Step Lightly
by flyingfishbird
Summary: Sam and Dean are working a case that they think is a dud. An unlikely person points them in the right direction. But she keeps terrible secrets that will effect the group forever, including Castiel. A story of betrayal. Would really appreciate reviews!
1. Little Thief

It had to be 3 o'clock in the morning by now, and neither of them was enjoying each other's company. The urge for sleep becoming too relentless for even a small joke that didn't involve hurt feelings of the other.

"Sam, there is nothing here! This is just a sick serial killer snacking on a bunch of helpless vics, alright? Ever heard of Jeffrey Dahmer? Can we please go back to the motel now?" Even though the 'please' had a thick layer of sarcasm coated on it, Dean was set on returning to his 'baby', a '67 Chevy Impala.

"Something just isn't right about this, Dean. This doesn't feel like some psycho." Sam replied, still looking around the deserted street with his flashlight in hand.

"It never feels like some psycho to you, Sam!"

"Well, how often is it?"

"This one has to be, Sammy. I haven't seen anything that even remotely looks fishy, and we've been here for three days."

"Okay, I admit this isn't exactly the most exciting case but-"

"Exciting doesn't have anything to do with it. Hell, I'm happy with no excitement because it means that we get a break. Okay? So let's get out of here."

Sam took one last quick sweep with his flashlight and sighed. "Alright. Fine. Let's go."

"Thank yo-", Dean was cut off by a sudden bump against his left thigh, as was Sam. The only thing they saw was someone running past them, dressed in a black pull-over hoodie, the hood pulled over their head and navy blue jeans.

"What was that?" Sam asked, pointing the steady beam of light after the person. He looked back at Dean who seemed to be patting his left butt-cheek.

"It stole my wallet!" He shouted, anger bubbling up in his gruff voice.

Sam touched his back pocket, also discovering that his own wallet was long gone. Before he reacted, Dean was already hot on the trail of the little thief. "Dean! Wait up!" Sam shouted as he ran after the two of them.

Dean, of course, wasn't going to slow down anytime soon. Not until the little bastard that stole his wallet was in his hands. Dean's own flashlight never left the person's back as he began closing in. The thief took a hard right turn into an old alley and Dean didn't hesitate to follow. He saw that the alley had a wall at the end, blocking any escape that the thief had in mind.

"Where ya gonna run now, you little bastard?" Dean shouted in jagged breaths, exhausted now.

"Don't get so cocky old man!" The thief called back. But the voice. It was that of a child. A teenager in fact, but what really caught him off guard was that it came from a girl. The confusion on Dean's face evaporated as he saw what the thief had in mind. He saw her look up at the fire escape ladder, which had to be a good 20 feet high. Dean just shook his head.

"No way."

With that, she took off in a full sprint.

The thief leaped onto the dumpster lid, landing with a loud _clang._ Then, without hesitation, she spun towards the wall, jumping to grab a windowsill and pushed herself off with such agility that Dean stood there stunned.

"Son of a bitch…"

She grabbed the bottom rung of the ladder and began climbing like a mad monkey on a mission. Then she found out the hard way that the ladder hadn't been used, or maintained, for decades, and the rust had weakened the screws that held the ladder together so much that they snapped. The thief was sent hurling to the ground, the ladder after her. It was by sheer luck that the ladder didn't land on her completely. She landed hard on her back, causing the wind to explode from her lungs. The ladder then landed on her arm, causing two, deep gashes about a foot apart from each other to form. One, on her forearm, closer to their wrist, and the other just above her elbow. They were both located on her right arm. The thief would have screamed if she had any air left, so instead she just lay there, unable to move and in astonishing pain.

"Smooth kid. Real smooth." Dean said as he began approaching. "You really had me going there for a while. I thought I would have to hunt you down."

The thief rolled over slowly on her hand and knees, holding her right arm against her stomach as she gasped for air, blood pooling under her as it dripped from her injured arm. She didn't even notice as the hood was ripped from her head, revealing long, light brown hair.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" He shouted, his voice shaking with anger.

She was still gasping for air, but slowly got to her feet, wincing. Her bones felt like they had found new places in her body. Her ribs especially felt like they were scattered throughout her. Finally able to control most of her breathing, she looked up at Dean, her throat raw. From the corner of her eye, she saw Sam emerge from the mouth of the alley.

"Trying to get you two to follow me. At least to here…I was actually planning on losing you at the ladder." She said, pausing in between words to catch her breath. She finally opened her eyes, as they were clenched tight, fighting the pain. They were beautiful. A stunning, shimmering green. Almost inhuman.

Dean just looked at her in blank confusion for a long moment as Sam came up behind him. "What the hell?" Sam asked, looking from her, to Dean, and back to her.

"I know, right!" Dean replied, looking to his brother, and then focusing back on the girl.

"Why did you take our wallets?" Sam asked, dealing with the news a lot better than Dean was.

"I was trying to save your life. Which I did pretty well." She said, holding her arm painfully, though hiding the look from her face with incredible enthusiasm.

"Save our lives? How?" Dean asked.

"There was a Ghoul circling you guys. It looked pretty hungry, and it looked like it was looking for a reward for finding the Winchesters. Could you please take the flashlight out of my face? Good Lord, I feel like I'm being blinded!"

"Oh, sorry," Sam said, redirecting the flashlight to a more comfortable position.

"You know about monsters? And us?"

"Of course. I grew up listening about all kinds of monsters. My brother and father were hunters. And knowing about you guys, well, you aren't very subtle."

The boys looked at each other and both of them shrugged. They looked back at the girl and Dean said, "So, why didn't you just come up and tell us about the Ghoul instead of stealing our wallets unless you intended on keeping them?"

She sighed, "Okay, granted, the wallets were kind of a bonus at the time. I didn't think that you guys would have a freak attack. I just hoped that you would chase me a while until we were safe. But Dean had to go all Hulk on me."

"What do you expect? Never steal a hunter's wallet unless you want your face beaten in, as I always say." Dean said with a cocky smile, which was only rewarded by Sam rolling his eyes and the girl just staring at him like he was an idiot. "What?" Dean asked, confusion coming across his face once again.

"If that ladder hadn't broken, I would be long gone and you would be standing here with a dumb look on your face. Like that one." She said, referring to his face in general.

Sam laughed, but cleared his throat after getting a mad look from Dean.

"So, you would steal another hunter's wallet? That's a whole new low." Dean said, his eyes narrowing, looking the girl over, trying to figure her out. She couldn't be more than sixteen.

"Well, what do you expect me to do? I need to put money toward my new car fund." She said, trying to sound like a normal teenager.

"Kid, you need to grow up. Stealing from a hunter will get you killed. Maybe not by us, but maybe the next guys."

"Okay, okay. Point made." She said, just trying to get him to back off.

Sam sighed at the two of them. "Look, you now our names, so what's yours?" He asked, trying to change the subject.

"Robyn. Robyn McKenzie. I'm a friend of Bobby Singer's." She said with a smile, despite the searing pain in her arm that made her feel like she was either going to pass out, or puke. Given the fact that she hadn't eaten since breakfast yesterday, she figured that passing out was her best guess. She noticed a look shared between the two of them and her eyes narrowed. "What? You guys know Bobby too, right?"

"Yeah…" Dean said. It looked like a shadow passed over his face at just the sound of Bobby's name.

"Let's get you to a hospital. You look like you're about to fall over."

"I can't go to a hospital." She said suddenly.

"Why not?"

"I just can't, okay?"

"Where are your parents? They need to take you."

"They are working a job." She said sharply.

"Okay, fine. We will take you back to the motel and fix you up there. It doesn't look that bad."

_At the motel:_

"Okay…I lied. It looks really bad." Sam said as he started stitching up her arm. He was impressed though. Every now and then she would let a tiny wince slip by. "And that ladder was rusty. I think you might need a tetanus shot." He suggested firmly.

"I told you, I'm not going to a hospital."

"Why the hell not?" Dean asked, looking up at the both of them from his flask.

"Because I really don't like hospitals…" That was all she offered them. "Look, I don't need the shot. I'll be fine. Just wrap me up and I'll be in perfect health."

Sam sighed as he finished stitching her up. The wounds were bleeding less than before, but it still was a bad sight. He wrapped her arm up tightly in gauze, causing her to once again wince.

"Look kid, you don't have to act all tough about it. I know it's gotta hurt. Those were almost cut to the bone. If it was Sammy here, he'd be crying like a baby. A really tall, big baby." Dean said as he walked over and sat down at the coffee table with the two of them.

"Shut up, Dean." Sam said, glancing over at Robyn who had a slight smile on her face. She tried moving her arm around a little bit, but it was painful in the majority of positions she put it in.

"So, how do you know about the Ghouls? What are they doing here? We weren't anywhere near a graveyard, and Ghouls only really eat the dead." Sam said, looking at Dean with an 'I told you so' look plastered on his face. Dean didn't seem to notice. His mind was elsewhere.

"Something really weird is going on in this town. The Ghouls aren't eating dead people anymore. They are working with Rugarus now. Because Rugarus don't exactly look human they don't have the element of surprise that Ghouls have, since they shift into other people and stuff. So the Ghouls and the Rugarus have this deal that the Ghouls lure people into specified places and they have themselves a little dinner party. There are two Rugarus and three Ghouls that I know of that are a part of this."

"Wow. How did you find all this out? Did your father or brother help at all?"

"No. I'm just good at what I do."

"So you're a hunter too?"

She nodded.

Something told Sam that she was hiding something, but for now they were all too tired to care, including Robyn.

"When I brought up Bobby…you guys got really weird. Is he alright?" She asked cautiously, afraid of the answer.

There was a long pause before Dean finally said something. "Bobby died. Months ago."

The sudden pain that flashed through her eyes was more than the wounds one her arms could even come close to.

"We are really sorry." Sam added softly, touching her hand to try and comfort her.

She pulled her hand away. "How? How did he die?" She asked, looking away from them both.

There was a long pause before Sam finally opened his mouth, "He was shot."

"By what?" There was no hesitation in her question.

"A Leviathan." Dean answered.

Her jaw clenched. She couldn't believe it. She always looked up to Bobby, like he was invincible. Nothing could hurt him. Until now.

"Do you want to stay here? Until your family gets back from hunting?" Sam suggested.

Robyn looked a little surprised but then nodded. "Okay." She said.

"Tomorrow we are going to gank a few Ghouls and Rugarus. And here I thought this was the least exciting city on the planet. Silly me." Dean said as he took one more long swig from Bobby's old, worn out flask.


	2. The Runaway

The sun finally began to rise, casting its light throughout the city. Robyn had been up prior to this, the nightmares beating her awake every time her top eyelids met her bottom. The pain in her arm caused her to grind her teeth subconsciously, so much that her jaw began to ache. The pain in her stomach was a completely different kind. Sour. Empty. The kind of empty when you haven't even seen enough food to count as breakfast for days. She sat up in the bed that Sam had allowed her to have, deciding that he would much rather sleep on the couch. Loud snoring erupted from the bed next to hers and she looked over, seeing Dean with his mouth hanging open, a tiny bit of drool leaking out of the corner. She quickly glanced at Sam, who seemed to be asleep also. She got to her feet and carefully, silently made her way to the coffee table where Sam's wallet rested. All she needed was a little money. Just a little. She needed it more anyway. This was always the reasoning she used, due to the fact that guilt would kill her if she thought otherwise.

_"They don't need it." _She thought to herself. _"They won't even notice that some of the money is gone. No one will kn-"_ This is when the argument started, playing in her head like it was a conversation on television.

"_They are hunters. You can't steal from hunters._

_ "Why not? They are just like anyone else."_

_ "Except they save people's lives."_

_ "Not mine…not the people I know."_

_ "So? You aren't like other people. Freak."_

She shook her head and stared at the wallet with sad eyes. "Make a choice…" She said in the softest of whispers.

_-Later-_

Sam woke up a few minutes later, sitting up from the couch, back aching from being cramped up on the tiny piece of furniture for so long. While letting out a long groan as he stretched, he realized that one of the beds was empty, and judging from the manly snoring coming from the one that was occupied, he assumed that it was Robyn who was missing. He quickly looked around for his wallet, about to throw a speech worth of cursing. Then, he saw it resting on the table next to him. After a quick once-over through the pocket, he saw that all of his money was there. He looked confused.

Why would she just leave?

He walked over to Dean, grabbing his shoulder and shaking him awake roughly. His snoring cut off in short spurts as he looked up at his brother with widened eyes. "What the hell, man?" He shouted.

"Robyn's gone." Sam said with a shrug.

Dean looked from the bed that she had been sleeping in, back to Sam. He quickly realized that she wouldn't leave without a prize. He quickly got to his feet and patted his back pocket. His wallet was there. He looked at Sam, "Is yours still here?"

Same just nodded.

"Then why would she just take off?"

"I don't know, man. She must have been gone way before I woke up."

"Something isn't right about that kid." Dean said, irritated that he couldn't figure out just what was off about her. There was something resting on her bed. A piece of paper. He picked it up and read it aloud.

_Winchesters,_

_I had to leave, I think my parents are back from hunting. Have to make sure everyone is okay. And about the Rugaru Ghoul thing, their meeting place is Colby's Warehouse down Millshine Street. You can't miss it. There are bars on the windows and everything. Anyway, be careful._

_ Robyn_

"Wait." Sam said, thinking something over.

"I'm waiting." Dean responded, impatiently.

Sam just looked at him, rolling his eyes, then continued, "Okay. Robyn said that her brother and father hunted. Nothing about her mother."

"So?"

"Well, in the note she said her parents."

Dean looked back at the letter. "We really need to keep our eye on this kid."

"Yeah, you're telling me."

Dean's eyes narrowed then widened as he looked at his brother. "Before you got to the alley last night, she was doing all kinds of Jackie Chan shit. Like scaling walls and jumping like 20 feet in the air. You should have seen it, man. It was awesome." He said with a grin. Of course he was exaggerating about the height of her jump, but still, the stuff that she did seemed a bit extreme.

"Really? You saw all this and thought that she was human?"

"I didn't really think about it, Sam. She was a kid. And she was helping us with the case."

"Could that be because she was trying to get us off of her trail?" Sam asked, annoyed at his brother's lack of thinking.

"Alright, Mr. I'mBetterAtThinking. Let's go find her." Dean said, now just wanting to get Sam off of his back.

_Later:_

Robyn ordered herself some lunch at a diner on the other side of town from the old motel, wanting to get as far away from Sam and Dean as possible for the time being. Her burger finally arrived at her spot on the bar and her mouth watered as the delicious smell traveled to her nose. It must have been nearly 1 o'clock in the afternoon by now. On her way to the diner, she had gained herself 40 dollars from 3 other people's pockets. She was good at what she did. The only reason she was caught by the two brothers was because she wanted to be.

She picked up the burger carefully and took a huge, grease filled bite. She swiveled back and forth on her red stool. Then, from the corner of her eye, she saw two men walk in. She looked down at her beautiful meal of perfectly golden fries and slightly overdone burger. Then she looked at the door, swallowed her bite before it was sufficiently chewed, nearly choking as she saw Sam and Dean enter. She dropped the hunk of meat and bread into the basket and took off running. She sprinted through the employee's only door, nearly taking out a busboy in the process.

As soon as the door closed, she heard it reopen and heavy footsteps pursue her. All she could think about through all of this was how close she was to not being hungry for that day. She ran out the back door, and made her way to the sidewalk, not slowing down. She was almost unnaturally fast, but that didn't stop her pursuers. She looked back and only saw Dean running behind her. Her eyebrows pulled together.

_Then where's S-_

She couldn't even finish the thought before she ran full on, into Sam. He nearly lost his footing, but held onto her tightly, determined not to let her get away. Dean joined up with them, breathing hard. Meanwhile, Robyn was busy fighting her way out of Sam's grip, but to no avail. He had his hand over her mouth so no one would hear her if she started screaming for help. Instead of even attempting that, she started licking his hand to get him to let go.

Sam made a sound of disgust as he pulled his hand away and wiped the saliva onto his jeans. "You're so mature." He said sarcastically.

"Yeah, and you're the picture of manliness." She retorted, wanting to get away more than anything.

_Motel:_

After much 'coaxing', they finally got the teenager back to the motel room.

"If you just tell us what you are, this will go a lot easier for you." Dean said as he prepared the holy water, silver knife and the rest of the tests.

Robyn rolled her eyes which almost seemed to shine. They were such an unusual shade of green. Absolutely amazing. "Look, just get them over with." She said as Sam tightened the rope around her wrists and ankles that were tied down to the arms and legs of the chair she sat in.

"My pleasure." Dean said as he began.

They must have gone through every test twice, even the cutting with the silver knife, which didn't thrill the girl at all. "Are you guys done?" She shouted, getting angry. "I'm clean!"

"Then why did you run?" Sam asked.

"I don't know." She said, unable to think of a good excuse.

"Okay, well then why did you lie to us?"

"About what?"

"About your parents? You know, father and brother being hunters. Basically everything." Dean said, getting annoyed with her responses so far.

She sighed heavily. "I wasn't lying."

"Then why were you alone? When our dad came back from a hunt, we would spend every second with him."

"Well, I'm not you." She said sharply. When she saw that their expressions didn't change, she looked away. "Fine. They aren't around. Not anymore. They died when I was really little."

"So you live on the street?" Sam asked in surprise, a look of sympathy crossing his face.

"Don't give me that look!" She shouted. "Don't give me that fucking look! Do you hear me? Wipe it off your face right now!" The wounds in her arm began to seep as he blood pressure rose. The ropes even began cutting at her wrists as she pulled on them, glaring at Sam, her eyes never leaving him.

"I think you made her mad, Sam." Dean said with a slight smirk towards his brother.

Sam just looked stunned at her reaction. Without saying anything, he began cutting the ropes off of her.

"Shouldn't you guys be hunting or something?" She asked, unable to look at them now as she got to her feet.

"One more question." Dean suggested.

"Oh my God…What?"

"How did you do all that stuff last night in the alley? That was awesome!"

Robyn looked surprised and smiled a little. "Practice. If you pick enough people's pockets, you learn how to run away."

"Fair enough."

"Now, let me redress your wounds." Sam said, wanting to make it up to her for showing her some sympathy.

"Okay…" She said softly, hating everything that had to do with medical stuff. She felt that one bit of burger wanting to come back up, but she forced it down anyway.

As Sam was doing this he said, "You know, you never answered my question."

"I answered all your questions." She said, now really confused.

"No. I asked you how you knew about the Rugarus and Ghouls. You just told us what was going on, not how you knew."

"Does it really matter?"

"If you want to be trusted. Yeah."

"You really like to pry, don't you?"

"It's kind of his thing." Dean chimed in, who was sitting on the sofa.

"So? How do you know?" Sam asked again.

"Because. This thing has been going on for a really long time."

"Well, you seem to be the only one who notices."

"Because I know about all this supernatural stuff."

"Okay. That makes sense. Want to tell me the truth now?"

"You just cannot let things go. You should really work on that. Bad social skills. People don't want to tell their whole life story, ya know?"

"Go on."

She sighed heavily. "Okay. I knew someone who went all Rugaru and started eating everyone and they met a Ghoul and they started chatting it up. Now they got all their buddies and decided to team up. That Rugaru was a friend and I still see him from time to time and he tells me all this. Okay? Can we be done talking now?"

Dean and Sam just looked at each other.

"Friends? With a Rugaru?" Dean asked, stunned.

"Funny, right?" She said with a forced smile.

"Not really. I'm surprised you're not dead." Sam said honestly.

"Like I said. We are friends…" She looked away, grinding her teeth once again, but this time not because of the pain. But because she wanted the memories to just go away and nobody would let her bury them.


	3. The Truth Comes Out

After realizing that they had been denying Robyn food for the past day and a half, they decided that it was a good time for all of them to grab something before their little hunt that night. Realizing that it was best not to return to the diner where they caused such a big disturbance, they found a nice little, dirty corner of the city and ate there. They may as well have found food on the sidewalk, but Robyn didn't let that stop her. Dean actually had to slow her down so she wouldn't make herself sick if she ate too much too fast. It was then that they found out that she was actually starving. Not the joking kind of starving, but to the point where if she had gone just a few more days, there would be no more Robyn McKenzie.

Even with Dean coaching her through the meal, her stomach still felt like it might burst by the end of it. She laid her head down on the cool table, allowing it to send a chill throughout her body. After a while of just listening to Sam and Dean have their own conversation, she lifted her head up. "When are we going?"

"Going where?" Sam asked, having an idea of what she meant.

"The warehouse. When are we going?" She asked again.

"_We _aren't going anywhere. _You _are staying at the motel."Sam answered mildly.

Robyn rolled her eyes. "Are we really going to play this game? I'm not five. I know how to hunt. Okay? Kind of grew up around these things. So let's skip the 'you're just a kid, you can't kill monsters', cause I can."

"It's not about if you can or can't. We don't want you to get hurt." Sam explained.

"Look. You can tell me I can't go all you want. I know where the place is. I'll go anyway."

_Later that night:_

"Are you kidding me? This is so against the law!" Robyn shouted, back in the same chair that she had been tied in earlier. "I will call the police!"

"How are you gonna do that?" Dean asked with a cocky smile.

"Dean, I wouldn't antagonize her."

"Why not? It's not like she can do anything."

"We are going to have to untie her eventually."

Dean grimaced. "Okay. Touché. Let's get out of here." Dean said as he followed Sam towards the door. "Why don't you take a nap or something?" Dean said with a smirk. Robyn turned her hand in the ropes and put her middle finger straight up.

Dean just laughed as he shut the door behind him.

_At the warehouse:_

"Can you see how many are in there?" Dean asked Sam, who had binoculars pressed to his face.

"Hard to tell. The bars are in the way. I see one Rugaru and the three Ghouls that Robyn talked about." He answered back. They sat in the Impala, deciding what their next move should be.

"Well, barging in unannounced should get us somewhere. It seems to always work."

"I don't know, Dean. Something feels weird about this."

"What kind of weird? Like leviathan weird or they are all dancing around singing Kum-Ba-Yah weird?"

"Like Robyn didn't tell us the whole story weird." Sam answered as he handed Dean the binoculars so he could take a look.

"Well, everything looks normal. Well…our kind of normal." Dean said as he looked through them. "Oh, shit." He said as he threw the binoculars in the back seat. He shoved the door open and practically jumped out. Sam followed to the trunk quickly as they got a makeshift flamethrower and a huge knife made especially for chopping off of heads.

"What's going on?"

"That little jerk got out. She's about to run straight through the back of that building." He said in almost a growl. He shut the trunk and started sprinting towards the seemingly abandoned warehouse.

_Robyn's POV:_

After slipping her way out of the ropes, she got a taxi, spending the rest of her stolen money on the ride downtown, five blocks away from the warehouse. She didn't have any weapons. She didn't really need them. After not seeing Sam or Dean around, she started walking to the back of the building. She dug a bobby pin out of her pocket and picked the lock with ease. She stepped inside, looking around. The only source of light was that of the moon with the door standing open. She left it slightly ajar so she would be able to see what was in front of her. It wasn't long before she heard his familiar voice.

"Baby sister!" His voice was so soft and warm. She felt herself being lifted in the air by strong arms.

"Paul!" Robyn said with a smile as she was set down gently after the bear hug. She turned around to face him, but the smile quickly faded. "Look, you have to get out of here. There are hunters and they are on their way if they aren't here already."

"No time for catching up?" He said with a look of disappointment.

"Not this time…"

He sighed. "Okay. Let me get the others and we'll get out of here."

"No, Paul. They know about you guys. Some of them have to stay behind so the hunters think they've won."

His face looked even more distorted with a frown. "What have you told them?" He said with a low growl.

"I had no choice. They caught me."

"Was it because you were trying to save them?" He shouted. "My own sister! Nothing but a filthy human, or whatever the hell you are! What are you again? A mutt of some kind? Worse than a human! Helping hunters? Really? I'm your brother! I'm so glad I wasn't born with those genes you got flowing. You're nothing but a dirty traitor!"

"Paul, wait. I'm trying to help you!" She shouted with thick desperation coating her voice.

"Don't." He said, his red eyes looking away from her. "You fuck everything up! Ever since you were born! You aren't even a normal monster! You may as well be some type of science experiment you little freak!"

"But-"

"Shut up! We will deal with the hunters ourselves." He said. He pushed her to the ground. "But first, we would sure like a little snack, you know. Keeping strength up and everything." The smile on his face was sickening.

"Let's reverse that, ass hat!" Dean charged in, pulling the trigger which sent flames towards the Rugaru, burning him slowly. Robyn just sat there; the amount of pain on her face was astronomical. So much so that neither Sam nor Dean resorted to asking if she was okay. Her brother still screamed, but it slowly started to die down as he himself died along with it. He made one last grab for her, wanting to take her with him. He was within a foot of her before Dean jumped at him, knocking her brother to the ground, 10 feet away, burning himself in the process. She stared at the body until Sam grabbed her uninjured arm and half carried her into a different room.

"Stay here, do you understand?" Sam asked as he put her behind one of the machines that used to make some kind of soap he guessed.

She didn't say anything. She didn't even nod, but Sam didn't have time for an answer, so he ran to find Dean who was two rooms away. They found themselves in a storage area. They had disrupted the ceremony. A girl that had gone missing the day before lay strapped to a table, a knife held above her abdomen, about to begin. Three Ghouls and a Rugaru turned around the look at the newcomers with annoyance painted across their face, until the female Ghoul said, "Don't worry. They can join us for dinner. We can save this girl for dessert." She said, licking her lips with a sinister tongue.

"Sorry, we forgot to make reservations." Dean said with a slight smirk.

"That's too bad," said the Ghoul. "Guess we're gonna have to make this quick." That seemed like the command for attack, as the Rugaru displayed their teeth with pride and two Ghouls began approaching, minus the female. Sam wasted no time in showering the Rugaru with flames. The Ghouls seemed to watch with sickening interest as the Rugaru writhed around on the ground before finally coming to rest. The two Ghouls nodded at each other and they both ran at the boys. Dean took out the knife and began slicing at the air, but the Ghouls moved swiftly out of the way.

Before Sam could even reach for his knife, the male Ghoul tackled him to the ground, the flamethrower slipping from his grasp. Dean was too preoccupied with his own Ghoul that he couldn't aid his brother at the moment.

Sam kicked the Ghoul off and grabbed the knife. Before the Ghoul could defend himself, he was struck with the recently sharpened knife that sliced the head cleanly off, but the knife went flying across the room. Now it seemed fair. Two on two. Only, Sam didn't have any useful weapons, and Dean was having trouble administering the needed blow. The Ghoul wasted no time in coming at the now defenseless, Sam. Before he knew it, he was up against the wall, the creature's mouth just inches from his neck.

"Sam!" Dean shouted as he finally dealt the blow that he was looking for, the Ghoul's head sliding off of its body. He tried to run over to help his brother, but before he could, a knife was already slicing through the tender flesh of the Ghoul. Its head removed from its body easily. Its icy hands released Sam and the body fell to the floor with a haunting _thud_.

Robyn stood there, dropping the knife, causing it to clatter against the cement floor of the warehouse. Sam's eyes were wide and his heart was beating wildly. Dean just looked at the child in a new light, and not a good one despite the fact that she had saved his brother.

"When were you going to tell us?" He demanded.

"I don't know…I didn't exactly want you to know." She said. Her voice was lacking any emotion whatsoever. Even her gaze looked dead and washed out.

"No shit!"

"Dean…" Sam said, trying to calm him down.

"What, Sammy? She's a monster. You heard the guy!"

Despite her expression being void of emotion, she still winced at the word 'monster'. It didn't matter how many times she heard it, it cut a little piece out of her every time.

"Dean, stop!" Sam demanded. He walked over to Robyn. "Now, can you tell us the truth? Everything. Let's start with your brother."

She sighed heavily. "Okay. I was ten when it happened. He was eighteen. Then he went all Rugaru. Killed our parents. Said it was for the best because they would always talk down to me. I thought he was protecting me, but then he just kept killing and killing and he wasn't my brother anymore. A few times, I actually thought that he was trying to kill me. I guess I was right."

Sam just nodded, being careful about the sympathy, showing none of it though he felt it deeply. "So what are you?"

"I don't know…" She said honestly. "Throughout my whole life I've been called a mutt. By almost everybody that knows of this life." She just laughed a little, not out of happiness but just out of how much everything kept getting worse. "I was supposed to have a guardian angel once, but they never showed up. Not once, except to tell me that he was watching over me and all that. But he never saved me from anything." She looked away from Sam's gaze, not wanting him to see her if she broke, because she felt mighty damn close to it.

"I don't have a thirst for blood, or a craving for people's hearts or anything weird like that. I just have funny eyes. That's all. And I can run fast and jump high. I'm not exactly special really."

Sam nodded and Dean hid the fact that he felt bad for what he had said earlier. He still didn't like the fact that she could be some type of big time monster, but right now she seemed so innocent and deserving of a nice, warm place to sleep and good food and just a family.

God, this wasn't fair.


	4. Deranged Parenting

"I understand if you guys don't want me to come with you. You don't have to invite me back." Robyn said, a bit confused as to why they were bringing her back to the Impala.

"Where else would you go?" Sam asked, more out of curiosity than anything else.

She tried to think of something to say that wouldn't sound pathetic. Coming up with nothing, she just shrugged. "I could find a place. No big deal."

Dean just looked at her before opening the driver's side door. "Shut up and get in the car." He said as he slipped inside, turning the key in the ignition. His baby purred to life and started blaring "Hot Blooded" by Foreigner. Robyn also slipped into the back seat, Sam following suit as he climbed in the passenger's seat. Not much was said between the three of them as the Impala was driven back to the small motel. Robyn even fell asleep on the way, her head resting against the cool window. Her mind was too tired to produce the gory, sick nightmares that plagued her ever since she was a child.

Dean, with surprising, uncharacteristic gentleness, picked her up and carried her inside, where they found the chair and the ropes lying on the ground. They both developed serious looks on their faces, almost able to be classified as frowns. What they saw made them both nervous about the child that the oldest brother carried. The ropes weren't even cut. They were also on too tight to just be able to slip out of; the two of them had made sure of that. Dean set her down on the bed. She didn't even stir. It was Dean's turn to take the couch that night, a silent agreement between the two brothers.

_The next morning (dawn):_

Dean was the first to wake up this time, well, second, counting the guest. He cursed loudly when he saw that her bed was perfectly made and nothing was sleeping in it.

"Damn it! Why would she leave this time?!"

Sam was startled awake, nearly falling off the full sized bed. "What's going on?" He asked, his eyes only partially opened as he tried to regain full consciousness.

"She's gone." Dean said, pulling on his boots, "And no note this time." He was making his way to the door, angry. He was acting really strange about this kid and Sam was starting to notice.

Sam got out of bed and pulled on a jacket over his white T-shirt and his own pair of boots before following Dean out the door. It didn't take them long to find her due to the fact that she was already walking back to the room with a Root Beer in her hand that she had gotten from the machine outside. She was surprised when Dean was running to meet her.

"Why wouldn't you tell us you were leaving?" He demanded.

"Uh…you were sleeping. And I was probably less than 50 feet away the whole time."

"Well, for all we knew, you could have been half way to Canada by now!"

Robyn just looked at him like he grew an extra head. "We are in Maryland…how close do you think Canada is?" She asked sarcastically.

"Ha-ha, you are hilarious!" Dean shouted, no humor in his voice at all.

"Okay, man. Is this how you are when you don't eat breakfast? Cause there is a food place just down the street." She was just as confused as Sam seemed to be, who was now completely awake.

"No one likes a smart ass!"

"What the hell are you?!" She retorted, now getting just as angry as him, her grip tightening on the soda in her hand.

"I'm an adult!"

"I'm 16!"

"Can you drink?"

"I could, as long as there are no cops. Why? You got anything?" She asked, just trying to make him mad.

"You know damn well what I meant!"

"Okay, okay guys. Let's just calm down and go back in the room." Sam intervened, or tried anyway. That was when everyone noticed that people were staring at the three of them.

"Is everything okay here?" One person asked cautiously, not wanting to get punched in the gut for having the presence of mind to speak up.

"Yeah." Dean snapped impatiently. "We were just going back." He said as he grabbed Robyn's arm and pulled her back into the room, Sam following uncomfortably.

"What the hell is wrong with you today? You're acting like a deranged parent!" Robyn said, more annoyed now than angry. She threw her drink on the bed. She hadn't even broken the seal on it. She hadn't gotten the chance before Dean went all psycho parent on her.

"At least I care what happens to you!"

"Can we calm down?!" Sam finally raised his voice. "I feel like you guys are about to draw blood!"

"He started it…" Robyn muttered under her breath.

"Like hell I did…" Dean said in the same tone of voice. After that, the argument continued in practically whispers, but neither could really hear what each other was saying because they were talking at the same time. They just decided that they needed to rant.

"Okay, that's enough, children!" Sam shouted one more time. "We are all going to be quiet, and accept that Robyn is still here and that we misunderstood the situation. Both of us." He said, directing the last statement towards Robyn, who he knew was going to make a comment if he didn't. "Can we do that?"

The two of them nodded.

"Good." Sam said with a long sigh.

"So, why do you guys even care if I stay? You're going to have to leave to go on another hunt soon anyway, so why does it matter?"

Sam and Dean looked at each other. Dean broke the stare and looked back at Robyn. "I think that it's a good idea if you come with us." He said suddenly.

Robyn looked confused. "Why? I mean, why would you want me to."

"Well, it could be safer for you, since you don't know what exactly you are and there could be things out there that are looking for…whatever you are." Sam explained, very poorly.

"No one ever has before. Why would they start now?"

"Well, maybe no one knows about you yet, but they will find out eventually, so better to be safe now than dead later." Dean said simply.

"Okay…makes sense." She said. She was excited really. She never had anyone that really wanted her around, so now was a good change. She felt like things in her life were finally going to come together, for the most part anyway.

"So is that a yes?" Sam asked with a slight smile.

"Yeah." Robyn answered, returning his smile.

"Good choice, kid." Dean said as he patted her head, just trying to get on her nerves now.

"Oh yeah…you're coming too." She said in mock disappointment, kidding with him, which was a good change compared to just a few minutes ago. Sam realized just how annoying the two of them were going to be.

_A few hours later:_

From the backseat of the Impala, Robyn looked back at the city that she grew up in. It was receding into the horizon with each passing mile. Dean constantly looked back in the rearview mirror to see if her reaction was a good one. It was. She had a faint smile on her face ever since the sign that read, "You are now leaving Baltimore." Before they left, they each got a sandwich. For Robyn, it was the best sandwich of her life, but for Sam and Dean, it was just another meal. Because the brothers were still worried that Robyn was going to eat herself sick, they made her eat really slow and even boxed some of it up for the road. She didn't seem to mind that much.

"Where are we going?" She finally asked as the city seemed to disappear.

"We are going to South Carolina." Sam answered.

"What's going on there?" She asked curiously.

"Women are being killed around there and it sounds like werewolf attacks. The vics hearts are missing."

"Creepy…" Robyn said softly.

_That evening:_

It felt like it took forever to get there. Robyn wasn't sure how they got used to being in a car for so long and so often, but she figured that she would get used to it eventually. But right now, her legs felt like they were going to fall off of her. When the Impala was finally parked, Robyn crawled out and stretched dramatically.

On the way to the area, they had stopped to get Robyn some new clothes to change into so she could wash her old ones, which were starting to get dirty. Since she was forbidden to steal from now on, they had to show her how normal people acted when giving another person money. Dean and Robyn waited outside while Sam checked them into a room.

"Look." Dean said sharply, not meaning to come off as a jerk right now. "The reason why I freaked earlier was because I didn't want anything to happen and me not be around. Understand?"

"I've been taking care of myself for about ten years. I know how to handle situations."

"Yeah, situations involving your brother. Not situations where you need to really fight someone else to stay alive."

"You don't know that." She said with ironic laughter. "I've been in situations that would make you sick."

"Like what?" Dean said. They both leaned against the trunk of the car, Dean staring coolly at her, waiting for her response.

She shook her head. Her gaze became distant, as if she was going back to those moments right then. "I need some of my secrets. I'm not going around demanding you tell me everything that makes you uncomfortable."

"Fine. Whatever. I'm just saying that I don't want anything to happen to you. That's all."

"Thanks, Dean." She said. The smile on her face was real this time. She grabbed the bag filled with her new clothes as she saw Sam walk out of check-in. He nodded for them to follow him and they did. They were in room 7. As they walked in, Robyn noticed that this place was much better than the last room in Baltimore. It was cozier and you didn't feel like you had to watch your back for roaches.

"I'm going to go change. Be right back." She said as she walked into the bathroom. At that moment, when the door shut, Castiel appeared in the room, in front of the two boys.

"Hey, Cas." Dean said, looking over at his friend.

"Hello, Dean. Sam. I'm here because there is evidence of Leviathan activity in this down."

"I thought Dick was focusing on Wisconsin for now." Sam said, sounding confused.

"Yes, I know, but I believe that they are spreading out. They are trying to gain control over all of the United States, so we think that Dick is stationing his army all over."

"Army?" Sam asked.

"Yes. It's not very big, but it's incredibly powerful, and it's only gaining power the longer they are here."

"We know, but Cas, we have a little bit of a situation here." Dean said, glancing towards the bathroom.

"What could be more important than destroying the Leviathans?" Cas demanded.

"Nothing, we understand that, but we have to protect someone right now. We think that she could get into some trouble if we leave her alone."

"Then by all means, take her with you."

"Oh yeah, into the Leviathan den. You need some serious lessons on how to protect someone."

"So I've been told." Cas said.

A few minutes went by, and the three of them discussed what their next move should be. This was going to be harder than they thought. Dean knew that Robyn would jump headfirst into the Leviathan case if she knew about it, so they decided that it was best kept a secret. Castiel still didn't understand why this child had become such an importance to these two in the past few days. They had told him most of the story, minus a few of her own details and he had found it very interesting. He almost felt like the story was familiar but he wasn't sure why.

"What is her name? I must speak with her." He said. At that moment, the girl walked out of the bathroom, still drying her hair with a towel, dressed in flannel pajama pants and a black T-shirt. She threw the towel back into the bathroom when she was done and looked up with a smile at Sam and Dean, but then she saw the 'stranger' and the smile shattered. The glimmer in her eye faded and instead was replaced by blinding pain. The only kind of pain that could be associated with betrayal.

"Castiel?" Robyn asked, her voice thin as her throat tightened.

Castiel just stood there. All of the sudden he looked exhausted, weighed down by an imaginary dumbbell. "Robyn." He shook his head.

There were no words to describe the sudden regret and sorrow that was on both of their faces at that moment.


	5. Guardian Angel

"You guys know each other?" Sam asked with surprise.

"Yeah…Why don't you tell them Cas? Tell them how you know me? It's a great story actually. Filled with friendship and wonderful times, laughter. Oh, I almost forgot. The abandonment is an important part too." Robyn's eyes never left Castiel. She saw him wince at the end, like what she said actually physically hurt him. She just shook her head and walked to the door.

"Where are you going?" Dean asked quickly.

"For a walk." She snapped back.

"You're wearing pajamas."

"I don't care!"

"It's cold outside…" Dean was doing all he could to get her to stay.

"I don't care, Dean! I just have to get out of here!" The door slammed shut behind her. The brothers and the angel were left alone in the room.

Castiel sighed deeply. "I apologize."

"To who?" Sam asked with a mock laugh. "Cause I don't think it's us that you owe an apology to anymore."

"I suppose you're right. But I doubt she will listen to me anyway. Maybe it's best that I go."

"Don't you dare disappear on us Cas!" Dean shouted. "You were her guardian angel weren't you?" Dean asked, remembering something that Robyn said about how she was supposed to have a guardian angel.

Castiel couldn't look Dean in the eyes. "Yes. I was. I am."

"What happened?" Sam asked.

"Forgive me. Both of you. But this is not a conversation I would like having with either of you at the moment."

"Then go talk to her. Not us." Dean ordered.

"It's not that simple, Dean."

"Okay, but I won't be the one to tell her that you left without even trying."

Sam looked at his brother with a curious expression. Dean really had a connection with this girl. He acted like she was his own daughter. He wasn't sure if this was because of Emma, his former Amazon daughter, or if this was just because he and Robyn was almost the same person. Either way, it was strange seeing him act this way.

Castiel was unsure of what to do. He glanced at the door, then back at the brothers. "I'm sorry." Was all that he said as he disappeared.

"God damn it, Cas!" Dean snapped angrily at the air where Castiel stood only seconds ago.

"Dean, calm down."

"I can't calm down, Sammy! Now I have to go out there and tell her that Cas wimped out!"

"You don't even know if she wanted to talk to him, Dean."

"Yes, I do." That was all Dean had to say.

Before Sam could respond, Dean was out the door. Dean looked around before finally seeing Robyn sitting on a bench just a little ways from the motel. He walked over and just sat down next to her. She was leaned forward, her elbows on her knees and her hands folded in front of her. She looked out at the street, watching the cars go by, one by one. It was obvious that she was freezing, but Dean knew that she would never admit it, so instead of asking her, he took off his own jacket and put it around her shoulders. He was glad her pride at least let her accept this small gesture, even if It didn't allow her to come back inside to grab her own coat. She even grabbed the jacket and tightened it around her, taking in a greater degree of its warmth.

"I'm sorry, Dean." She said softly.

"For what?"

"Everything. I just was so angry…I guess I really shouldn't be here."

"Yes you should." Dean said firmly. "You belong here. Look, I know how it is not being able to fit in with normal people because you've seen things that they will never see except in horror flicks. And plus, whatever Cas did, I'm sure he deserved what you said to him."

She shook her head. "Is he gone?"

"Yeah…"

"Figures…" She said, her voice filled with disappointment.

"Did you really want to talk to him?" Dean asked, hearing the tone in her voice.

"Well, yeah. I guess. He used to be my best friend. Then, he left me. I just wanted to know why."

"You'll see him again. Trust me." Dean said, looking out at the cars passing. Their headlight faded as they zoomed by, having no idea what was really happening around them. That always fascinated Dean since he was a child.

She let out a small laugh. "I guess I kind of have him cornered, huh?"

Dean smiled slightly. "Yeah. So don't worry too much. You'll get your chance."

There was a long pause before Dean finally asked, "So, he was your guardian angel?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Ever since I could remember, he was always there. Until the night my parents died. He never showed up…"

_6 years earlier:_

_ "Mom, Dad! Wanna see what I made in art class today?" Asked a 10 year old Robyn, running throughout the house until she found her parents in the kitchen. They were sitting at the counter looking at old documents._

_ "Not now." said her father, Peter McKenzie, rather bluntly._

_ "Go show your brother, sweetheart. We are really busy right now." added her mother, Sarah._

_ "But, he won't listen to me. He's in his room." She whined._

_ "Go somewhere!" Her father snapped. He had the same strange green eyes that Robyn had, except a lot more intense and mean._

_ Holding her painting at her side, she walked away, head low as she climbed the stairs. She stood outside Paul's room for a while before finally opening the door, forgetting to knock. From there, she watched him eat raw burger that had been in the fridge the night before. "Pauly?" She asked, getting his attention. His head snapped back, glaring at her hatefully._

_ "What the fuck are you doing in here? Get out you little freak!" He shouted, the sides of his mouth stained red from the raw meat. He picked up a shoe and threw it in her direction, but she closed the door before it hit her. She didn't think much of what she had just seen. She just walked back to her bedroom, closing the door behind her and sat on her bed. Her feet didn't touch the ground, but instead just dangled, so she moved them in circles, trying to keep her mind off the tears that were backing up in her eyes. Even then she wasn't much for crying; of course her father's definition of weakness might have had something to do with it. But in that moment, one fell down her cheek, and she hated herself for it._

_ "Robyn? What's the matter?" Came a male voice from the corner of the room. She looked over and grinned._

_ "Cas! I missed you!" She shouted with delight. The angel sat down next to her, wiping away the stray tear._

_ "What is that?" He asked, looking down at the backside of the painting._

_ "Oh, it's you!" She turned it over and showed it to him._ _In the picture he wore a trench coat and a loosened tie. Great big white wings were attached to his back. He was the only one there who wasn't actually in the family. "And that is me." She said pointing to the different subjects in the artwork "And that is Paul and mom and dad." Actually, it wasn't bad. In fact, this cute piece of work showed an extraordinary degree of talent, of course, Castiel already knew that._

_ "It's wonderful." He said, smiling down at the child._

_ She was beaming but it slowly faded into a frown._

_ "What's the matter?" Castiel asked, genuinely concerned._

_ "Everyone makes fun of me for having an imaginary friend." She said softly, looking at the ground as she continued to kick her feet._

_ "I'm not imaginary." Castiel said gently._

_ "I know that. But nobody else thinks you are. They call me freak every day. Even Paul does." She looked up at Castiel. "What's so different about me?"_

_ Castiel knew that this question was coming. In his past few visits, he had seen that look of impatience grow bigger and bigger. "You're not so different." He said simply._

_ "You're lying." She said, not so much accusing as it was just an observation._

_ Castiel sighed. "Yeah, I know." He became very serious. "There are big plans for you. You are going to be a really important person one day. What those people say are wrong because you aren't a freak. You're just a lot more powerful than them."_

_ "I don't feel like it…" She said, frustrated._

_ "You are. In a few years, you are going to realize just how strong you are."_

_ "I don't want to be strong, Cas! I want to be normal!"_

_ "I'm sorry Robyn, but that is impossible."_

_ "Why?"_

_ "Because, you have to be the one to fight for everyone else."_

_ "But, why, Cas?"_

_ "I don't have an answer for you…" He said softly, feeling terrible for putting all this on her. "Now listen. You are going to have to be really tough and strong for the next few years because I can't always be around to help you."_

_ She looked confused. "What do you mean? You're leaving me?"_

_ "Not leaving you. How could I leave you?" He said, trying his hardest to give her a smile. "But there are things that are going to happen that only you can get yourself out of."_

_ "So…you won't be around…" She said. The way she said that was disheartening for Castiel._

_ "I'll watch over you all the time. Understand?"_

_ The tears were coming back now. "Don't go Cas. Please? You said that if I prayed, then you would always come."_

_ "I know. But things are different now."_

_ "They don't have to be! You can stay!"_

_ From the other room, she heard Paul shout, "Who the fuck are you talking to? Shut the fuck up!"_

_ Castiel's jaw tightened as he heard the muffled shout through the walls. Angels weren't supposed to hate, but that boy needed to be turned into a pillar of salt or some something like it._

_ "Can I come with you?" Robyn asked, talking much quieter now._

_ "Humans who haven't finished out their life aren't allowed into heaven."_

_ "Please? I don't want to stay here. Not with Paul. He scares me…"_

_ "This is how it has to be, Robyn. I will see you when it's the right time." He stood up from the bed. To avoid more painful conversation, he disappeared. This was the first time that Robyn really broke down, sobbing. The second he disappeared, she prayed hard, but he didn't come back. He never came back._

_ That was the night that Paul turned Rugaru, and that was the moment when Robyn had to grow up in less than a second. Castiel didn't show up again, even on that cold, gruesome night. Her only friend left her, and the thought tore and ate away at her every day since. And every day, even up to the point when she met Sam and Dean, she prayed to Cas, begging him to come back. To just look at her and explain. That's all she needed. She just wanted her friend back, but now she wasn't sure if it was too late._

_Present Time:_

Dean looked at her warmly before standing up from the bench, watching her feet hover in circles just above the ground. It was a habit that she never lost whenever she was in pain. "Come on, let's get inside. It's freezing out here."

Robyn sighed and nodded as she stood up also, her bare feet beginning to ache from the cold. They made their way back to the warm room together. Dean thought that it was at this moment when they both decided that they could trust each other wholeheartedly.

Dean would never admit this of course, but he was starting to feel like this child was his own. But he buried those feelings as memories of Ben and Lisa began to float to the surface. No, it wasn't the same thing. He couldn't let it be the same thing because he knew that he would lose her if he thought that way. He couldn't go through that again. He was already in a losing fight with insanity.


	6. Unstable

_ She was running as fast as she could. Her breathing was rough and her throat burned from the quick intakes of oxygen. All she heard behind her was screaming. At first it sounded like agony, but as she listened closer, it changed to animalistic rage. She looked behind her, seeing the source of the scream, only to find that it was her brother… clawing at her. Doing everything he could to get her. Finally, she felt searing pain as claws gripped her shoulders, digging into them, drawing blood. She was spun around, hands still on her shoulders. She saw her brother, eyes locked. Only, his face was different. Distorted and grey. The veins in his forehead throbbed viciously and a smile formed, exposing his cold, sharp teeth._

_ Then, his face began to change. His eyes became a beautiful shade of green that seemed to glow in the darkness of the narrow hallway. She no longer saw her brother, but instead, herself. A violent, monstrous form of herself. Her teeth were like her brother's, only sharper. The whites of her eyes were now gone; only leaving the strange green behind. Blood dripped from the doppelganger's mouth and when she looked into her eyes, she saw the bodies of her parents. Just like she always did. Every night. Only now there were two new bodies._

_ Sam and Dean._

_ That was when she started screaming. Even then, the sadistic smile stayed on her tormentor's face as her pure counterpart was left slowly slipping into insanity with each passing night. _

_ "Robyn…" came the voice of the evil thing standing in front of her. It sounded mocking. The real her began letting out strong, body shaking sobs, but no tears._

_ "Robyn!" said the voice again. It kept repeating her name, until the voice began to change. With the voice, the thing in front of her began to change once again. The claws that were in her shoulders relented and the hands that remained were reassuring. Almost comforting. Then she saw the face change into that of Sam Winchester._

"Robyn? Robyn!"

She woke up with a start, nearly butting heads with Sam as she shot up to a sitting position on the bed. Sam was standing next to it, looking at her with worry. She was still breathing heavily as she put a hand over her heart. It was beating against her chest so hard that she thought she was going to lose it completely.

"Are you okay?" He knew that it was a stupid question, but it needed to be asked.

"Yeah…" She forced that word out of her like it was stinging as it formed on her vocal cords.

"Anything you want to talk about?" He asked.

"No…just a nightmare. No big deal." She said, slowly starting to calm down.

"That wasn't just a nightmare. Nightmares aren't like that. Now, reoccurring ones are."

"So?"

"So, I'm saying that if you ever need to talk about nightmares, me and Dean are pretty much your best options."

"Look, I said I'm fine. It was stupid."

"Really? Cause it sounded like it stopped being stupid when you started gasping just to breathe."

"I'm fine!" She said, one last time.

"Fine. But can I say one last thing?"

"You're going to tell me either way, so go ahead."

"Both me and Dean have had our share of nightmares. Eventually, we had to talk to each other before they killed us. You never had someone to talk to, so who knows how long they've been going on. They are just going to get worse and worse until you're too afraid to sleep because you don't know if you'll wake up in the morning."

"Okay, Dr. Phil. Thanks for the input. Where is Dean anyway?" She asked, trying to change the subject.

Sam just sighed. "He's getting coffee. He should be back any minute."

"Then we get the werewolf?" She asked, knowing that he wanted to get back on the subject of her nightmares more than anything.

"No. Dean and I are."

"Really? We are going to go through this again? Do you remember last time?"

"You are a pain."

"Yep."

_Five Months Later_

The werewolf case went just like any other case the brothers dealt with, except with a new member helping along the way. After that, the cases kept coming as usual, and with it came the same injuries. Scratches, bruises, a blow to the face. Robyn took everything in stride as the boys had learned to do at a young age. Months began dragging on, but it seemed that everyone was smiling more. The girl had brought life into the small group which seemed to have been lost forever. Castiel had been seen on a few occasions. Each time, Robyn was not around which made the visits short and sporadic. Robyn never let anyone know, but every time Castiel came around, she expected him to acknowledge her. It never happened and Dean was realizing how much it was really hurting her. It made Sam and Dean on edge whenever the angel made an appearance. Although, some of the tense feelings dissipated as the Christmas season rolled around. A week until the holidays and in that time Sam and Dean had a few good gifts in mind.

They pulled up to the old, abandoned mansion around 12:30, investigating a case that they all suspected was a shifter. They knew what they had to do. They grabbed their gear in dealing with a shifter which included anything silver really. Of course, Sam and Dean were just going through the motions. They had a completely different plan in mind. As they entered the mansion, Robyn noticed a strange set up.

"It looks like someone is trying to summon something." She said, as she moved towards the table that held the objects in a small cauldron.

"Yeah. That's weird. Better see what." Dean said, immediately lighting a match.

"Dean! Whatever it is could be extremely dangerous." Robyn objected.

"Can't be that bad." Both he and Sam had strange smirks on their faces as Sam lit another match, preparing. Dean threw his into the cauldron; a sudden burst of fire rising as a figure suddenly appeared in front of them.

Castiel.

Sam wasted no time in throwing his match at Castiel's feel, a circle of fire surrounding the furious angel.

"What is going on?" He shouted with sudden anger.

"You two need to work this out." Sam said simply, as if it was obvious. "It's like you guys are a couple of kids avoiding each other like this. We can't deal with it anymore."

"So this is how you handle it? We don't have to work anything out! What's done is done!" Robyn joined in, just as angry as Castiel seemed to be.

"We are going to be somewhere else. Call us when you guys are done with making up." Dean said with a cocky grin.

"What about the shifter case?"

"Made it up." Sam explained. "We had to get you here somehow, and this really worked. We came in here last night and set everything up while you were sleeping."

"That is really cheap guys." She argued.

"Agreed. I do not like being trapped here against my will." Castiel said, glaring at the two boys.

"Well, then make it quick and we can let you out sooner." Dean said as he and Sam walked out of the room to a different part of the mansion, leaving Robyn and Castiel in complete silence.

And more silence….

_A few minutes later:_

After a while, Robyn was sitting on the floor, not once looking at Castiel. She grinded her teeth against an outburst of anger.

Ignoring the question Castiel said, "I did not abandon you."

Her jaw immediately locked at the statement. For a while she didn't say anything, so Castiel thought she didn't hear him.

"I said that I did not-"

"I heard you." She said, glancing up at him for a moment. "That doesn't mean that I believe you."

"It's true."

"What about the whole guardian angel thing? Aren't they supposed to protect you?"

"Yes."

She just let out a slight laugh because if she didn't, she would have snapped. "So, instead of doing your job, you ditch me on the night when things really start going bad?"

"My job was complete at that time." He answered evenly despite the amount of emotion that was built up in the look on his face.

"So, you didn't care. I was just a job to you. And once it was over, you _abandoned_ me." She said the word like it had the potential to infect, or poison.

"I did care. I was watching over you. I just wasn't allowed to intervene."

Robyn got to her feet and finally met his eyes. "So, after all that happened, you were just watching? That night wasn't the only issue that I've had in the past six years you know. I can't even count on both hands the amount of times that I've almost died! And now I know that my angel was just watching! Were you watching…that night?"

"Of your parents?" He asked, needing clarification on which night she was talking about.

"No…"

He looked away from her intense gaze, knowing exactly what night she was talking about now. He had wanted to die that night after what he had seen, and had been unable to stop. "Yes…I was there."

The answer stung her. She wished it had been no. "You were? Then where were you?"

"I was there. I just couldn't intervene. You have to understand that."

"You were my friend! My only friend! And now I know that you don't even care enough to stand between me and a couple of guys that think it's so damned funny to steal what little I had try to get rid of the evidence by just leaving me to die! Three years ago Cas!"

"I know."

"But they couldn't leave it at that."

"Robyn. Stop." Castiel said softly.

"Why? Does it hurt you? Really? Cause I have to live with it every day. What they did… it killed me."

"I know!" Castiel snapped. This stopped her cold. "I was there! I saw what happened and I wish that I could change it. You were…are my friend too Robyn. Every day I wanted to come back. But I couldn't until-"

"Until what?" She asked, looking up at him, confused. She stepped closer to the fire.

Castiel wished he hadn't said anything, but he knew that she would not relent until she knew the answer. "Until two years ago."

Robyn just stared at him for a while. The crackle of the fire that served as Castiel's cage was the only sound.

"But you didn't…you could have come back, but you didn't…"

"I wanted to. But I was terrified that you wouldn't accept me back."

She just looked at him. Anger could barely be detected on her face right now. It was covered by sheer pain. "You were terrified? I was terrified! Every day! I needed you Cas."

"No. You didn't. You made it through practically unscathed." He said, looking away from her pained expression.

"I'm scared to be touched now, Cas. After that night in the alley. That's not coming out of this unscathed. I don't trust people anymore. Hell, I barely trust Sam and Dean!" There was nothing accusing in her voice anymore. Just sadness. Overwhelming sadness.

"You don't understand. I had to let you go. Otherwise you would not be as strong as you are now."

"I'm not strong!" She snapped. "I'm just numb."

Castiel didn't say anything for a long while. "You don't deserve this life." He said carefully.

Robyn just looked at him, tears brimmed her eyes. "Tell me what I am. Please. Just tell me why I had to be alone for so long."

"I can't do that."

"Why?" She was angry again. "Just tell me! I need to know!"

"I can't tell you because there is no word for what you are. You are everything. Every creature. You are the only one, and you had to be alone because it was your time of judgment. To see what side you were on."

The news caught her off guard. "And?"

"And…they still don't know. The angels. I know. You have a good heart, but they believe that you are extremely unstable. Those dreams you've been having…they could happen. Do you remember what happened? After what happened in the alley that night? Do you remember the men leaving?"

Robyn thought for a moment. "No…" She said. She had never thought about it before. She just remembered waking up and the sun was out, but had been in a completely different part of town.

"You lost control." That was all he said. He didn't go into details and Robyn was grateful for that. The fire gave an ominous orange glow to the large room. She was tired of fighting. She was tired of being angry. She was exhausted. She grabbed a bucket of water that rested on the table. She could have grabbed it anytime, but they both knew that they needed to talk. She tossed the water onto the fire, dousing most of it. More than enough to free the angel.

She dropped the bucket next to her feet. She stepped towards Castiel wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. God, she missed him. The action caught the angel off guard, expecting her to hate him forever. The truth was that she never hated him. Timidly, slowly, he hugged her back, her head resting on his chest. For the first time in a long time, she had her best friend by her side. She didn't care if she was some monster. She didn't care that she wasn't normal, didn't go to a normal school, and didn't know how to act in normal situations. She was just happy. And right now, nobody could change that. Not even the Devil himself.


	7. Control

While this was going on with Castiel and Robyn, Sam and Dean were having a visitor of their own. An unwelcome one at that. She appeared as the two boys were smiling at what they were doing to help their semi new friend.

"Meg?" Sam was the first one to notice her. Dean turned to look- glare at the intruder. The last thing he wanted to see right now, or ever wanted to see, was a demon.

"Hey boys. Just decided to drop by to ask a quick question… What the hell are you thinking?" Her voice rose steadily as she neared the end of the question.

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked, suddenly annoyed with her tone.

"That girl! What do you think I'm talking about? Do you even realize how dangerous she is?" Now it was Meg's turn to get annoyed with the fact that they had no idea what she was talking about, despite the fact that the answer was staring them in the face. Although, she was getting more flustered than anything.

"Robyn?" Dean chimed in. "She's not dangerous. Maybe to _your_ kind, but she wouldn't hurt anything else."

Meg shook her head. "You clearly don't understand. Do you even know what she is?"

The boys just shrugged. "We know that she isn't exactly human if that's what you mean."

"Not exactly human…that's one way of putting it. I'll just let you guys in on some of the information then. She is everything mixed into one…being. If she so much as bats an eye in your direction, you may as well look forward to burgers through a straw for the rest of your life, if you're lucky."

Dean just chuckled at the thought. "Have you met this kid? She can't hurt anything even if she wanted to. The only things that she doesn't like crawling around are things like you. Monsters."

"She's more of a monster than I could ever dream of being." The way that she said that did not give any credit to Robyn, it just seemed to be an obvious fact that was not one for being proud of. Not this time. "Have you seen her angry?" Meg asked bluntly. "Oh, wait. No you haven't because you're still _alive_."

"She wouldn't kill us."

"Nah. Not now she wouldn't. But if she ever loses control, even for a second, you can kiss this world goodbye."

"That can't be true." Sam said simply, not believing a word of what she was telling them. Partly because she was a demon, and partly because he could not picture Robyn, in any instance, even thinking about hurting another human being. She seemed tough on the outside, but on the inside she was sweet, and loving. It took a long time before Sam and Dean even had that thought about her, but she was slowly starting to show it more and more with each passing day. He even knew that Robyn wasn't human, but he never, not once saw her use any sort of power. Neither had Dean for that matter.

"Oh? Then why would I be here? Tell me that, Sam."

"Wait." Dean said with a slight smirk on his face. "You're scared."

"What? Of a teenager? Of course not!" She was lying, and Sam knew it.

"You are!" Sam said, noticing the distressed look on the demon's face.

"I'm not afraid of her! I'm just warning you both!"

"You aren't warning us. You're trying to get us to kill her so you won't have to face her."

"Look. It's true that I would rather not be the one that has to deal with her. But if you knew what I know then you would think the same way."

"Why not fill us in?"Sam asked, interested in finding something out about Robyn. Despite getting closer with her now, the brothers were still in the dark about a lot of things about her. Especially about her past. Whenever she was asked about it, she froze up and sometimes wouldn't communicate with them for hours, like she would sink into her own little world for a while.

Meg sighed and her voice became a shallow whisper. "Since she was born, angels have been assigned to look out for her, mainly Castiel. He volunteered because all the other angels were too afraid. Then he was told to back off because the angels needed to see if she was this evil creature or an ally. As you know, she came from a bloodline of Rugarus, but she was not born with that gene. Instead, this twisted, mutant strand of DNA was lying dormant; slowly building and building until it finally let itself go and form into that kid. Apparently, God had made this mutant DNA as a start of a new creature. One that may as well be a powerful as the Antichrist. A few years ago, all of Hell found out about this new…thing and we wanted dibs…well, that was until we realized that if we didn't get her on our side, then we would be finished. So, we were too scared to act on it. She could wipe out the angels too, but they were busy studying her, trying to figure out what she would turn out to be. But the idiots ended up losing track of her a while back. Now word is spreading that you two have the little beast."

"That can't be true…she's too…normal." Sam argued, shaking his head.

Meg sighed heavily, "Look. The only reason the angels haven't killed her is because they were trying to decide if she would be a good ally. Or if she would turn to Hell and decide to fight for us. That was all until they lost her."

The two of them were silent for a moment. "So? What did the angels decide? Good or bad?"

"They don't know. But they've seen her lose control once. It wasn't pretty. That's why you guys have to end it. Tonight, while she's sleeping. It's the only time that she is vulnerable. She can't be killed otherwise."

"No." Dean said sharply, without hesitation.

"No? You want another Apocalypse? Is that what you're telling me?"

"No, I'm just saying that I am not going to kill a kid."

"She's not a kid!" Meg hissed. "She's a monster! You know? The things you guys are supposed to hunt? Protect the people and all that?" Her voice was beginning to develop desperation.

"You really are scared of her…" Sam mentioned passively.

"You know what? Yeah. I am. Forgive me if I don't want to die at the hands of a sadistic beast!"

"You don't even know her."

"No, but I know what she is capable of." Meg seemed to shiver at the thought. "She's the kind of thing that has stories written about her to scare the creatures that live in Hell."

Dean just looked at her, stunned into silence, which was a first.

"None of this makes sense." Sam chimed.

"It doesn't? Then tell me, please. Do you know anything about her past? Oh, ask her about the men that she dismembered. Well, I guess she had a right to, considering. But be careful how you phrase the question. Don't want their fate becoming yours."

"What men?" Dean asked.

"Just some people that she met on the streets. Don't worry. They got what was coming to them."

Dean could only imagine what they ended up doing to Robyn. Quickly changing the subject he said, "Look, I know Robyn, and she wouldn't turn into anything evil. She wouldn't let herself."

"You've only known her for a few months!" Meg snapped, her voice becoming sharp.

"But I know enough to know that she would never fight for Hell!"

"The thing inside her is evil! It will corrupt and change her! I don't care how well you think you know her, but you are wrong! Whatever it is will kill the Robyn that you know!"

"You're lying!" Dean shouted. It was all he could do to not grab the knife at his side and just cut into her. Sam even had to step in between them.

"Both of you calm down." He ordered firmly. "Now we just have to figure this out."

"There is nothing to figure out!" Meg shouted.

"She's right, because I've already made a decision! Robyn is not dying tonight, or any other night anytime soon!" Dean clarified.

"You've just given us all a death sentence! I hope you can live with that!"

"As long as you're one of the first to go!" Dean shouted back.

Meg looked at Dean like he had grown an extra head, not understanding why he was defending this monster. "Oh no…you're attached to her. You think you're her friend. Listen, Dean! She's not! Either she dies, or we all die! Why won't you listen? It would be so much easier if you did it, but now you are forcing my hand!"

Sam looked at his brother, the hurt on Dean's face barely visible, but to Sam, it may as well have been screaming at him. He looked back at the demon in front of him. "Get out of here." He said as his voice hardened. "If you come near Robyn, we will make sure to kill you. Not just send you back to Hell." He threatened, his lips curling into a scowl.

Meg's jaw tightened. "You're an idiot… both of you. I hope she kills you. Hell, I hope she destroys the whole earth. And it will be on your heads." She said. In less than a second, she was gone, leaving the two of them to brood on this new information.

"She isn't a killer…" Dean said after a while.

"Are you trying to convince me, or yourself?" Sam asked, knowing the answer after another long moment of silence.

"What do we do?" Sam muttered, rubbing his forehead, trying to think of a solution.

"We watch her." Dean said suddenly. "We watch her damn close…and if she loses it…then we make the move."

"It'll be too late by then, Dean. If what Meg says is true, then the only time we will get the chance is when she's sleeping."

"I'm not killing her while she's asleep!" Dean snapped. "Hell, I'm not killing her while she's awake! I don't know about you, but I won't." Sam knew that when he said the word _won't_, it really meant _can't_.

"I'm not saying we will. I'm just saying that we need to keep an eye on her. Keep her calm."

"Have you met this kid? She's never calm. She has a temper like a damn wolverine. And she's never lost it before."

"I know, Dean! I'm with you; I don't see how she can be this thing that Meg was talking about. But we have to be smart about this."

"Sam, the second that we treat her differently… that will be the second that we lose her. Whether it be from her losing her mind, or from just leaving. Now I won't take that chance." He said. That was the end of the conversation. They sat away from each other, two rooms away from Castiel and Robyn, but they could still hear bits and pieces of the conversation. It got quiet for a while and the brothers finally exchanged a glance as they got to their feet to check out what was happening.

As they entered the room, they saw the two of them letting go of each other. The feeling in the room relaxed, even Sam didn't seem as tense as he had been. The mood was completely shifted as they saw the angel and the girl in such a state of relief and happiness. Dean looked at Sam as if trying to say, 'that is no monster…' and Dean was right, for that moment. Right then, she was just a teenage girl, and a damned good one at that. But none of them, not even Robyn knew that in just a few days, she would show the true colors of the beast lying in waiting.


	8. The Monster

A couple of days went by and Robyn was kept under close watch, well, as close as Sam and Dean could without getting suspected. Castiel was around most of the time to help, but they could only watch her so much before she got suspicious. When she did, the group proved that she was wrong by giving her money and telling her to explore the town. It was small, so they thought 'how much trouble can she get in?' So she left, leaving the small group to sit and worry about her, but none of them admitted to it.

"I don't understand this game…" said a frustrated Castiel, sitting across the coffee table from the boys, staring at seven playing cards in his hand.

"That's what you said about the last five games…" Dean responded, looking just as frustrated as Castiel. They had gone through Texas Hold 'Em, Blackjack, Bullshit (try getting an angel to play that game…), 5 card stud, Razz, and now finally they decided to play Go Fish.

"What's the objective?"

"The objective is to get matches of the cards in your hand." Dean said, getting tired of explaining the rules.

"What happens then?"

Dean just put the cards on the table and got up from the couch, giving up on distracting himself with playing cards. Sam also placed the cards on the table and leaned back on the cheap cushions. Castiel just sat, staring at the cards in his hand, expecting them to play the game for him.

Just then they heard something outside the motel room door. It sounded like fumbling of the handle and then a dull thud. Dean quickly grabbed a gun filled with rock salt and approached the door cautiously. Sam grabbed the second gun and stood, waiting. Dean peeked through the peep hole, not seeing anyone standing there. He looked back at both Castiel and Sam, making sure they knew what was going on, and then carefully opened the door a crack. What he saw made his heart almost stop. Robyn was lying on the ground next to the door, unmoving. Dean pushed the door the rest of the way open, causing it to slam against the wall. He knelt down, and as he did, Sam and Cas were already standing over him.

Then, all of the sudden, the girl made a sound, more like a groan.

"Go awayyy. I'm sleeeepping."

That was when Dean smelled the alcohol and all fear was replaced with anger and relief. A strange combination. Despite his anger, he put one of the girl's arms around his shoulders, lifting her up.

"I couldn't figure out how to open the door…so I just decided to lay down." She said, interrupted by a fit of giggles. Her words were so slurred together that Dean had to really focus to understand them, and even then it was difficult. Dean laid her down on the couch, his nose crinkling at the intense smell of alcohol. He had his share of drinks, but this kid went all out that night. Most of the anger subsided, but she was in huge trouble come tomorrow, of course the hangover would be punishment enough, but Dean planned to make tomorrow Hell.

"Nighty night guyyyss. Sleeep tiiiight! No nightmares tonight! Nope." Her eyes had been closed through that whole band of nonsense, but it seemed that she finally drifted off.

After a while Castiel said, "I have something to attend to…I'll be back to check on her soon."

"You know that we can take care of her, right Cas?" Dean asked, feeling like he was looking down on their parenting abilities.

"Yes. I know that. I would just like to be sure that she is okay. I'm her guardian."

"So are we." Dean argued.

"I'm a different kind." Castiel said before disappearing.

_The next morning:_

Sam was awakened by harsh gagging sounds coming from the bathroom. For a second it scared him, but then he remembered Robyn. He looked at the couch and saw that she wasn't there and he laughed quietly to himself. The violent heaves worsened and he got to his feet and walked to the bathroom door, knocking.

"Go away!" She shouted, followed by another sound of vomit hitting water. Sam grimaced but still amused.

"Just wanted to wish you luck!"

Muffled from the door, he heard her say, "I wish you could see what finger I'm holding u-" She was interrupted by yet another explosion of vile, mostly digested food and alcohol from the day prior.

Dean woke up at this point and looked at Sam at the door and smirked. "How's she doing?"

Sam's slight laugh said it all.

"That well, huh?"

"I think she is learning a valuable lesson."

"I can hear you!" Came a thick shout from the bathroom.

"Good." Dean called back

This went on for about two hours. Robyn never left that room until she felt like she had emptied everything she ever ate since birth. She walked out finally, looking she was about to fall over. Her skin was pale and her stomach muscles were sore from the constant push to remove everything from inside her. Dean, on the other hand was enjoying every second of this.

"Oh, Robyn! I meant to tell you. I ordered you a nice, big, greasy cheese burger from the joint down the street. With extra onions and pickles and sour kraut. Stuff like that."

Robyn put a hand up to cover her mouth and bounded towards the bathroom like she was being chased by wolves. Dean was left laughing as hard as he could, leaning back on the couch triumphantly. All he heard from the bathroom was another fit of dry heaves and occasionally, wet ones.

"Who puts sour kraut on a burger? That's disgusting." Sam said, looking at his brother.

"Exactly." Dean said, grinning. He took out his flask and took a long swig. "Girl needs to learn how to hold her liquor." He said sarcastically, putting the flask back in his pocket after screwing the cap on.

It didn't take as long for her to emerge from the bathroom this time, in fact it was only a matter of minutes.

"Don't say anything… please to God, don't say anything. I'll never drink again, I swear." She said, sitting down, exhausted.

"Well, if you don't want me to say anything, then you better start talking." Dean said simply.

"About what?" She asked, looking over at him.

"About last night, what happened?"

Robyn sighed heavily. "I just met this group of kids, they offered, I accepted."

"So, a random group asks you to come with them?" Sam asked.

"Yeah." She said, getting annoyed at the interrogation.

"Something about that doesn't seem right to me. Why would you do that? You're a smart kid. What happened?"

"Look." She said firmly. "I don't go to school. I'm constantly moving around. I don't make friends. So when a group of guys asked me to join them, I jumped at the chance."

"Guys? So now it's a group of guys?" This caught Dean off guard. He even stood up to look at Robyn directly.

"Well, it wasn't just guys, Dean! We went to a party! They took me there! Then they dropped me back off here. That's it! So stop looking at me like I'm a criminal!"

"As of now, you are! You're 16! You can't drink legally! And what if those guys had been carrying ruphees? They could have –"

"What, Dean? Raped me? I can take care of myself! I don't need you in my case all the time!"

"Apparently you do! Until you learn to make good decisions!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you can't go out anymore! Not until you prove to me that you are responsible." Sam just looked at his brother, wide eyed and clearly confused. Too stunned to say anything at that moment.

"You aren't my dad!" She shouted.

"Go to your room!" The words spewed out of him before he had a chance to stop them.

"We are in a motel!"

Dean looked like he was about to explode. Instead, he grabbed his jacket and stormed out, slamming the door behind him. Robyn and Sam were just left staring at each other, neither of them knowing what to say.

"He's just worried about you. That's all." Sam said carefully, trying to calm her down.

"Why? I'm fine. Nothing happened."

"Just because nothing happened this time, doesn't mean that nothing will happen next time."

She just sighed. "I'm going to go to my bathroom…" She said as she walked back, intending to just stay in there a while so she wouldn't have to talk to anybody.

Castiel came and went that day. She didn't even want to talk to him. Dean eventually came back, a little less angry, but still a time bomb if anything hit the wrong buttons. Robyn and Dean did have a tendency to butt heads, but never anything this bad. And Robyn just stayed in the bathroom, every now and then coming out for food, but that was about it. This was very inconvenient for the boys, but they made do. Robyn even made herself a little bed in the bathtub. That was how serious she was about this.

Later that night, when she was sure that the boys were asleep, she snuck out of the small motel room with amazing grace and made her way to a car that was idling in the parking lot.

Hours went by before Sam finally woke up, sensing the absence in the room. He looked around, turning a light on which woke Dean up instantly.

"What the hell are you doing?" Dean asked, eyes shut tight, fighting off the bright light.

Sam saw the bathroom door stood ajar. "She's gone…" He said simply, not even having to check the room.

Dean's eyes opened and he got up from the bed as quick as he could, pulling on his jeans from the day before, having no time to find fresh ones.

"Where are you going? You don't even know where she is."

"It's a small town. She can't be in very many places." He said simply, pulling on his boots before running out the door. When he walked out the door, towards his car, he saw a beaten up, old pick-up truck screech into the parking lt. The truck barely had time to stop before the passenger's door opened and Robyn jumped out. Another girl also jumped out, who presumably had been sitting in the middle. The driver didn't take the keys out of the ignition as he himself climbed out, looking angry. He walked over to the blonde and grabbed her arm.

"Get back in the fucking truck!" He shouted.

"Hey!" Dean shouted, walking over to the group.

Robyn stared at him, mortified as he yelled at her, "Robyn, get inside. Now!"

The boy just laughed. "Better listen before your dad gets mad."

"Just let her go." Robyn said, ignoring Dean. "She doesn't want to be with you."

The girl was trying to get away from the boy, but he had a firm hold on her arm. Sam ran up next to Dean. "What's going on?" He asked, trying to make sense of the situation.

The boy looked from Robyn, then at the two men. "You're dad's gay?" He asked, letting out a thick laugh.

"He's my brother you little prick!" Dean shouted.

"You would call me that, faggot!" The boy retorted. Before Dean had a chance to punch the kid in the face, he saw a sudden change in Robyn. The whites of her eyes were replaced by the unusual green color. The almost seemed to glow in the blackness of the night. Silver markings began to cover her arms and ascend to her neck and eventually getting to her face. Her teeth sharpened dramatically and for a moment, she seemed to disappear. All of a sudden, the boy let go of the girl's arm, letting out a sharp scream of pain before being flung into his truck. Robyn reappeared, her right hand tight around his throat. The boy's arm was clearly broken as it hung at an unusual angle. Sobs of fear were the only sounds that managed to escape him.

"Scared yet? Faggot…" Robyn said, her voice distorted and raspy as her left hand pulled back, preparing for the death blow.

"Robyn! Stop!" Dean shouted desperately, running at her.

Her hand thrust forward, but before it reached its intended mark, she was thrust backwards, Castiel appearing in between the boy and the monster. Robyn was thrown onto her back, ten feet away from the kid she was about to murder. The green of her eyes flickered a moment before returning to their normal look. Her teeth dulled and the silver markings receded into a normal skin tone. Robyn made no movements. The girl that had been held by the boy was screaming, and began running away as fast as she could down the dark street.

Castiel turned to the boy. "Get out of here. You will not tell anyone of what you've seen here tonight." He demanded. The boy just nodded, hardly able to take deep breaths as she ran to the other side of the truck and climbed in the driver's seat and peeled out of the parking lot, tires squealing the whole way.

"Carry her inside… She won't remember any of this when she wakes up." The angel ordered. Nobody could believe what had happened, not even Castiel, but he kept a poker face throughout. Sam carried Robyn back inside, laying her on one of the beds. When they got her in the light, they saw streams of blood running from her eyes.

"That's normal." That was the only reassurance that the boys received.

She was sleeping… that was the only thought that was running through Dean's head now. He had seen the monster that was hidden beneath the teenage exterior. He knew how to destroy it, but not without destroying the wild, imaginative, talented person in front of him. He looked at his brother, who was clearly thinking the same thing, then at Castiel, who stared at the girl with such sadness that he expected the angel to just break apart. He knew that he wouldn't follow too far behind.

No one spoke. They just waited. No one made a move towards a knife, or a gun. It was too painful to even think of that. They just let her sleep.


	9. Greater Good

Sam gently washed the blood from Robyn's eyes and cheeks. She didn't even stir.

"Are you sure that she's okay Cas?" He asked.

"Yes…Like you've been told, this has happened before. Except, I wasn't able to stop it the last time." He said, but yet, there was no remorse for the murdered in his voice.

Sam was quiet for a moment, almost done cleaning her face when all of the sudden, her eyes shot open and she gasped in air like she had been drowning. She sat up to a sitting position, looking around the room in a fit of confusion. She kept whispering something. At first it was too soft to be heard, but then it steadily got louder until she was screaming it.

"I'm not a monster! I'm not a monster!" It wasn't fear in her gaze. It was absolute, undeniable terror. Her hands were pressed against her ears like she was trying to block out a terrible noise. Her eyes were wide and streams of blood began to pour from them once again. Her heart felt like it was about to explode. Her jaw was tight as she screamed through her teeth. Dean pushed her back down on the bed. She thrashed violently. She looked at him like she was staring into the face of some hellish beast.

"Robyn! Stop!" Dean demanded, all of his strength going into holding her down.

His voice seemed to get through to her, just the sound of it alone. She stopped fighting, but she was trembling violently. The blood from her eyes stained her hair and her clothes, leaking onto the pillow that supported her head. Now Dean realized why she never cried. It was because she couldn't. She was forbidden because she cried blood. That wasn't exactly considered normal by human standards. But part of him knew that that wasn't the only reason she never cried. It was because she had too much pride to allow people to know that she hurt.

"I'm sorry…" She whispered. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have left." Her voice pleaded for forgiveness, but she already had it. In fact, nobody held it against her.

"It's okay." Dean said as he gently lifted her up, pulling her into a reassuring embrace. She held onto him tightly, her face digging into his shoulder. Dean didn't care about the blood that was staining his shirt. He just needed to know that she was going to be alright. His hand rested on the back of her head, holding her there, and his other hand was placed on her back the way a father would make their child's pain go away. He just looked at Sam and Castiel, his jaw tight. They listened to her soft sobs.

"I thought you said she wouldn't remember…" Sam said, looking at Castiel.

He just shook his head. "I guess her mind got stronger since the last time this happened…"

"Robyn." Dean said in a hushed voice. "You didn't hurt anyone. Everyone is okay." He motioned for Castiel and Sam to leave the room for a little while. They nodded and silently headed for the door.

"The boy was hurt. I felt his arm break…" She said quietly, her voice muffled from Dean's shoulder. She heard the door shut as the two left the room.

"He had it coming." Dean persisted.

"I would have killed him."

"But you didn't."

"Because Cas stopped me… maybe it's better if…" She wasn't sure if she wanted to finish her sentence. She pulled away from Dean, blood smeared all over her face.

"If…if what? If we kill you?"

Robyn didn't answer.

Dean got up from the bed and looked at her with a look of disbelief on his face, but she couldn't look at him. "How can you ask us to do that?"

"Dean… I'm exhausted. I'm tired of fighting al the time. Jesus, Dean, I'm fighting myself! Maybe it's just time that I let go."

Dean looked at her for a moment. What she was saying was nearly the exact same speech that he gave Sam when he would rather die than keep on fighting for a lost cause. But damn if he would let Robyn give up like this. "If you tap out now, what are we supposed to think of you?" He asked sharply.

"What?" She looked at him, confused.

"What are we supposed to think of you? You know how many times I thought about quitting? For good? All the time, hell, I still think about it now and then. But if I did, Sam would be alone with Cas, and you know how that is." Dean said with a slight sarcastic smile.

One corner of Robyn's mouth rose slightly at the comment.

"Look. I know it sucks, but you were picked to do this thing. We will figure out how to get you to control it and you will be the best defender of earth and heaven that anyone has ever seen. You'll be a bona fide hero." He saw her eyes brighten at the word 'hero'. It was then that he realized that all she wanted to be was a hero. She wanted to protect people. Dean knew that she had the purest heart of any living thing, but the thing inside her was bringing her to collapse. Dean had to show her just how good she really was if she was ever going to be able to control that monster.

"Why does it have to be in _me_?" She asked softly.

"You're going to have to ask God himself."

She just chuckled at the thought. "Yeah. That'll happen."

"If he doesn't talk to you personally, after all he's put you through, then I will lose all faith in that guy." Dean said as he tousled her hair gently. "Now come on. We will figure this whole thing out later, but for now, let's get you cleaned up, cause right now it looks like someone tried to maul your face." His voice was light, which calmed her down more than he would ever know.

_That night:_

They were on the road again. Robyn seemed to be the only one that wasn't interested in talking. She just sat in the back seat, taking in the music that was playing on Dean's old tapes. Sam and Dean were discussing what to do about her situation. They tried to get her involved to bounce ideas off her, but she was silent. Images just crept into her head and she couldn't stop them. Images of what she had done. She thought the first time was a dream, but now it was real, and she knew damned well that breaking the boy's arm was far from a dream. She had seen herself in the mirror of his wide, terrified eyes.

Frustrated, Dean pulled the car over on the side of the road. "Get out." He said to both Sam and Robyn.

"What, why?" Sam asked. Both him and Robyn were giving him strange looks.

"You heard me. Everyone, out of the car." He was already shutting his door and walking into the woods. The two apparent idiots followed suit. They walked for about a mile in the staggering darkness with nothing but one flashlight per person. Dean found an open area up ahead and he stopped and turned to look at the two frustrated people behind him. "Robyn. This is the start of your training. You are going to learn how to control the thing inside you. Understood?"

Robyn just stared at him with wide eyes. "Dean, I-"

"No arguments." He interrupted.

"Dean, this is a bad idea." Sam intervened. "Cas was the only thing that stopped her last time."

"Then get him here."

"We don't even know how to get her to do it."

"Well, remember last time? She was pissed off. So we just have to piss her off."

"Uh, guys? I'm right here. This idea really sucks."

"Agreed." Came a voice from the darkness. Dean's flashlight scoured the trees in search of the voice, landing on his old demon friend.

"What are you doing here, Meg?" Dean asked angrily.

"Trying to stop you from doing something stupid. You are actually going to make her turn into a monster? Do you really want to die?"

"I wouldn't hurt him!" Robyn snapped, glaring at the demon.

"Oh, right. Because you are always in complete control." Meg countered.

"You don't know me!"

"I know enough! One day, you're going to destroy everything and no one has the guts to finish you off before that happens!"

"I should kill you now!"

Meg chuckled. "In your innocent human form? Please. You couldn't bring yourself to stomp on a ladybug. You only scare me when your eyes go to the color of slime!"

"Stop! Both of you." Sam shouted. "This is going to get ugly really fast if this keeps up." He just watched as Robyn and Meg continued to stare each other down.

"Fine." Meg muttered. "But you have to stop this right now, before things get out of hand." She looked at Dean. "You can't help her."

"I'm right here!" Robyn shouted once again. "And I don't need help!"

"Oh? Then I guess you can tell me that you _meant_ to break that boy's arm yesterday?"

Robyn looked away, ashamed.

"That's what I thought…" Meg said with a look of disgust on her face.

"Meg, it's time for you to go." Sam said lightly, but there was firmness behind it that Meg couldn't ignore.

"Fine… but trust me, I'll be around." She disappeared into the night, leaving the three of them to look from one to the other, deciding what to do next.

"Well," Dean said. "Let's do this."

"Dean, no." Robyn said.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to hurt anybody, and believe it or not, it's not pleasant turning into that…thing. It actually kind of hurts afterwards."

"You have to learn to get used to it Robyn." Dean said sadly. "Otherwise, you'll just keep losing it. At least after we do this for a while, you'll be able to control it."

"There is no controlling it, Dean."

To everyone's surprise, Sam said, "Maybe we should try it this once, and base our next move on what happens here."

"You're agreeing with him?" Robyn looked at Sam, shaking her head.

"Yeah… I just think that this could seriously help you."

"No…it'll help you…" Robyn said, her jaw set. "That's what all this is about. Once the monster is on your side, you guys are unstoppable. Right? That's the only reason you kept me around…"

"We didn't even know about you when we first brought you on board!" Dean explained.

"Yeah…that's when everything was fine. Then you found out and now it would be a good idea to use me. Why are we out here, Dean? To _train _me? Or find out just how good of a weapon I can be?"

"We are out here to help you!"

"Yeah… right." She just started walking into the woods.

"Where are you going?" Sam called after her.

"To the car! Where else would I be going? I'm getting off in the next town!" She shouted back to them. The boys looked at each other and looked away, trying to figure out how to explain to Robyn that they needed her around. Not as a weapon, but as a friend. They couldn't lose her now. They had gotten too close, and Robyn knew it, but even after all this time, she didn't know how to trust people. So, she trekked towards the car, fully intending to cut the ties she had created but then she stopped walking. She was halfway to the car when she turned around, starting to walk back to apologize. She even started running, full tilt back to them. She couldn't leave now, not after all they had been through. God, she hated how fast she could screw everything up, no matter how good of a thing it was.

She had only been running for a few seconds before Meg and a group of other demons gathered in front of her. She didn't have time to ask what they were doing before they made their move.

_ The Brothers POV:_

Sam and Dean had just started walking back to the car when they heard a scream. They looked at each other, eyes wide and jaws slack out of shock.

_Robyn._

They started sprinting in the direction of the scream, having to come to a screeching halt when a male demon appeared in front of them. Its head was bald and it had a scar that traced the line if it's jaw. An ugly smirk grew on its face as its eyes turned a deadly black. Before either boy noticed, the demon punched them both in the stomach, sending them flying backwards. Sam's flight was stopped suddenly by a tree, but Dean kept going back a few more feet before landing in his back. Both were gasping desperately for breath. The demon walked closer to deliver the message.

"Don't look for her…Once we have the answers, she will die. For the greater good." The demon's laughter was the left ringing in the boy's ears as it disappeared.


	10. Monster Like Me

Robyn woke screaming a fit of agony as she felt excruciating heat on the back of her shoulder. It was only then when she realized that she had been strapped down to an old straight backed chair. She gritted her teeth against the pain, struggling to ask the question, "What are you doing?"

The demon that stood behind her was silent for a moment as he left the hot metal to burn her flesh just a bit more before he was satisfied. As he took the metal off, he placed the tip on the fire once more, which seemed to be in the shape of a strange symbol. "I'm just marking you. That's all. As requested." From the sound of his voice, Robyn could tell he was smiling.

"Requested by who?" Robyn shouted, struggling against her bindings.

She heard the demon chuckle as it walked around in front of her. "Can't tell you that yet. Now, before we get started…" He said as he picked up a sinister looking knife that had a distinct curve to it. "Why don't you give me some answers?"

Robyn's mouth went dirt dry. "What are you going to do?"

"Whatever it takes to get what I need." The demon said, the smile gone.

"What do you want to know?" She asked, trying to be calm.

"Well, for starters, where is your father?"

The question caught her off guard. She just looked up at him, her face becoming hard and serious. "He's dead." She didn't have a chance to prepare herself as she felt the hot pain of the knife carve into her other shoulder. She gasped sharply as her jaw tightened. This only made the demon's smile return.

"I guess we will come back to that one."

_Sam and Dean:_

The boys were sprinting through the forest, desperately trying to make it to the car. They had no idea where to go after that, but they did know that they had to be fast or Robyn was sure to be lost forever. When they did eventually make it, Castiel was already sitting in the back.

"Where were you, Cas?" Sam shouted as the two boys bolted into the car. Dean wasted no time in getting the engine running and getting the Impala on the road.

"I was trying to find her. It was hard, since where she is, is completely angel proofed.

"So you know where they took her?" Dean asked quickly.

"Yes…but-"

"Where?"

"Dean, listen. Even if I told you, there is something much stronger than you that is on its way. If you go and that thing shows up, then it's over."

"All the more reason to get Robyn out of there."

"You don't understand. It won't hurt her. Not yet anyway."

"How do you know that?" Sam asked. "What is it?"

Castiel sighed heavily. "It's a monster like her."

"I thought she was the only one." Sam said, not following.

"Well, we thought she was. Until we found the other one of course. It's much older than Robyn and much more evil. The demons are trying to lure it to them with Robyn as bait."

"Do they know each other?"

Castiel nodded. "It's her father."

Only silence that followed. Then finally, Dean said, "We still have to get her out of there. Now, tell us where she is, Cas."

Castiel just shook his head. "She's at her home… Baltimore. I'll give you that address when we get there."

"Is there anything else we should know?" Dean asked.

"There is something. I wish I didn't have to tell you, but both of you need to know."

"What is it?" asked Sam.

Castiel took a breath. "When we get there…it's not going to be pleasant. They are trying to get answers out of her. But remember, no matter how bad it looks, she will not be dead. She can only be killed by her own kind. Demons thought that she could be killed in her sleep, but they were terribly mistaken."

Dean and Sam exchanged looks. Dean's stomach clenched and his hands tightened on the steering wheel, fighting back a wave of nausea. Sam looked out at the black expanse of road and ran his fingers nervously through his hair. A lump formed in his throat as the sick pictures swarmed his thoughts. None of them wanted to see Robyn like they were about to.

_Robyn:_

"Stop!" After hours of the endless pain she finally said that word. "I don't know where he is! So just stop!"

The demon smiled. "You know Robyn, I don't understand you." He said as he put the bloody knife on the table. She watched as he moved around in front of her. She breathed heavily, the pain draining her energy. "You could have killed me at any time. Turned into the monster that you are and ripped me apart. Why not?"

Robyn just shook her head, her voice nearly a whisper. "I don't know…" Her head hung low, not meeting his eyes. She just watched as blood steadily dripped to the floor. Her blood.

"I know." The demon said as he grabbed her chin and roughly pulled it up so she could look at him. "It's because you are too noble. Always others before yourself. Like the night those men attacked you." As he held her chin up, he felt her jaw tighten. Probably with the last bit of energy she had left. "You just let them do whatever they wanted with you, but the moment they try to touch your friend, all gloves are off." He chuckled. "Tell me, what did your friend do after you turned freak?"

When she didn't answer he punched her square in the jaw. God, he was enjoying every second of this. "I would think that you would learn to answer my questions as soon as I ask them! Now come on, what did she do, your friend?"

Robyn's head hung there for a moment before she lifted it up to meet his gaze. "She ran… She ran away screaming."

The demon didn't look satisfied. "What was she screaming?"

Robyn looked away from him again. "I don't remember."

The demon looked angry now as he grabbed her by the hair and pulled her head backwards so she was looking at the ceiling of her old home. The demon was practically on top of her now, his breath sickening. "What was she screaming?" He shouted, the windows rattling at the large sound.

Robyn winced. "Monster! She's a murderer! Freak! Help me, help me! Police! MONSTER!" Those words had been burned into her memory.

Now the demon looked satisfied. He let go of her hair roughly and backed up. "And yet, you still protect people…humans…_hunters_ instead of yourself. Tell me, how long do you think it'll be before Sam and Dean decide you're a threat? That you've gotta go?"

"What do you want from me?" She asked, her voice becoming weak once again.

"For you to understand that no one will ever really care about you. You're a monster just like me."

"I'm nothing like you."

The demon smirked. "Okay, no. Maybe not. But I know a monster that you are exactly like."

"What?"

The demon said nothing as he walked towards the door, opening it and stepping aside. Robyn saw a figure in the doorway, but she couldn't tell who it was.

"Robyn…" She knew the voice. She could recognize it anywhere.

"Dad?"

_Sam and Dean:_

The boys had driven all night. They made no stops, but were finally forced to when they realized they had to take care of themselves. It didn't take long as they rushed through the gas station and immediately back to the car. Each hour that passed was just as painful as the first, maybe even more so. They had no idea what Robyn was going through. There wasn't much conversation going on throughout the trip. It seemed offensive to try to be so casual. The pedestrians and people in other cars even began to piss Dean off. None of them had any idea what was going on around them. That seemed to be all that Dean ever thought about these days. Especially right now.

When they finally arrived in Baltimore, Castiel appeared in the car. He told them the address and within the hour Dean was pulling the Impala over on the curb, looking at the home that once belonged to Robyn. It was abandoned and dark. Only one light was on and it was in the upstairs window. Castiel immediately knew that it was Robyn's old room. It didn't take long to see the angel proofing on the front door.

"I'll wait out here…" Castiel said, his voice filled with disappointment and worry. "And guys," He continued softly as the two of them looked back. "Get her back."

_Robyn_:

"It's good to see you again, Robyn." The voice carried no sense of compassion. It was a lie. Robyn of course didn't pick up on it. She thought he had been dead for years. Despite the pain, she smiled.

"You're back!"

"Yes. I'm back." He said swiftly, brushing it off. "Look, there is something we have to talk about. Alright, sweetheart?"

She nodded. "Aren't you going to untie me?"

He looked annoyed. "No." When he realized he answered too forcibly, he added, "They have to stay on for now. Everyone thinks that you are going to change on us. I'm sorry, it's not my choice." He paused and took in the look of understanding on her face. She would believe him even if he said that a UFO fell out of the sky and hit her on the head while she was sleeping. He wanted to laugh at how much she worshiped him, but he held it back. "Now listen. We need to talk about your friends. Do you realize that they are trying to kill me?" He lied.

"What? No they aren't. They kill the things that are evil. You aren't evil." She argued.

"I know. But they don't know that."

"I can just tell them. They will believe me."

"You? They wouldn't believe a monster like you." He said, his voice sharp.

"But…we're friends."

"Robyn, don't you understand? They are using you. And once they're done, they'll kill you too."

She didn't say anything for a while which was really starting to get on his nerves. "Robyn! Look at me!"

The fatigue was starting to set in again. The pain made it hard to focus. There was still the steady drip of blood on the floor. A puddle surrounded the chair that she was tied to. "I'm sorry, dad. I…I'm so tired."

For a split second, the man's eyes flickered green with anger. "That's fine. I'll let you rest now." He walked out of the room angrily. If he was going to get her on his side, he was going to need Sam and Dean out of the picture. And he had a plan.

_Sam and Dean:_

Sam and Dean stood at the front door, guns drawn, preparing to bust through the door. They heard voices on the inside. Dean recognized one of them as the demon that had told them that they were going to kill Robyn. His jaw clenched and he looked at Sam and nodded. Sam took a step back and kicked down the door open, the sound of wood breaking and splintering silenced the voices on the inside. Dean rushed in, aiming his gun in all directions, only to find that there was nobody in the room. The voices had disappeared. He wasn't sure if he should be relieved or scared. He lowered his weapon slightly and turned back to his brother.

"Where did they go?" He asked, not really expecting an answer.

"I don't know." Sam responded. "We should check the whole house before we jump to any conclusions."

Dean nodded. "I'll take downstairs. You take up." He said as he started making his way through the foyer. Sam carefully ascended the stairs, his gun at the level of his eyes as he looked for targets. He opened every door. There were only four in total. The first had been a master bedroom, the second, a bathroom, and the third a second bedroom and the fourth stood at the end of the hallway. It was the only room with light escaping the bottom. His body tensed as he approached the last door. He tested to see if it was unlocked, which it was. He opened it slowly, allowing his eyes to adjust to the light. What he saw in front of him was Robyn just sitting in a pool of blood. Her head hung low, her chin resting on her chest. There couldn't be any life left in what he saw.

"Dean!" Sam screamed as loud as he could. "Hurry!"

Dean heard muffled shouting coming from upstairs. He dropped the picture that he had been holding and the glass shattered as it hit the ground. He sprinted up the stairs and into the room, his heart felt like it stopped when he saw her.

"Robyn!" He shouted, running to her side. "Robyn, it's going to be okay. You hear me?"

Sam began untying her hands from the arms of the chair, followed by her ankles.

"I need you to wake up. Okay?" Dean put a hand under her chin, raising her head up slowly, assessing the damage. Her face was so bloody he could hardly tell what was bleeding and what wasn't. Her eyes fluttered open. The same beautiful green they always were.

"Where…where did he go?"

"Where did who go?" Sam asked.

Her eyes were starting to close again.

"Robyn! Focus! You hear me? Look at me right now!" Dean shouted. Her eyes opened once again and she looked at Dean to the best of her ability. Dean knew that she barely knew he was there.

"I need to find him… He's supposed to come back."

"Who Robyn? Stay with us."

"My dad… Guys, I'm really tired. Can we go home?"

"Yeah. Yeah we can buddy." Dean said as he straightened up and walked behind the chair. He saw knives and other tools resting on a table beside her. His jaw clenched as he finally forced his eyes to go to Robyn's back. Her shirt was cut up and covered in blood. He gently moved a piece of fabric to the side to see some of the cuts. He grimaced. There were so many wounds that were so close together that it looked like she had been skinned. Dean looked over at Sam and just shook his head.

"Okay. We are going to have to move you now. Understand?" Sam asked.

Robyn nodded.

Sam gently placed his right arm behind her knees and wrapped his left arm around her back. Immediately after touching her back she gasped and screamed, "Let go! Get away from me! I won't tell you, I swear!" She started to struggle. Sam let go of her and held her down by the shoulders.

"It's us!" He said quickly. "Sam and Dean! It's us!"

She started to calm down. She looked at Sam with cold fear in her eyes. He put a hand on her cheek, trying to get her to relax. "It's us. You're safe."

"I can't move… Everything hurts." As she spoke, the boys knew that this was the real Robyn. For now. They weren't sure when the delirious one would return.

"Listen. We are going to have to carry you. It's going to hurt really badly, but we don't have a choice."

"Okay. Let's make this fast…"


	11. Separate Ways

It didn't take long for Robyn to pass out from the pain. In fact, she didn't even have time to let out a scream. The brothers were grateful for that. Sam had lifted her into his arms, but her back was so torn up that even resting there was too agonizing. Dean opened the front door for them and they ran out of the house, towards the car. Castiel stood at the Impala, looking at them expectantly.

"How is she doing?" He asked quickly.

"Not good…" Dean answered as he hopped in the driver's seat. He waited for everyone to get in before speeding off towards a hospital. Cas sat in the back with Robyn, her head resting on his shoulder. She was barely conscious now.

"I can't…go to a hospital…" She said, wincing as she fought off the pain.

"You have to go, Robyn." Sam said urgently.

"They…are going to ask…too many questions…that can't be answered without suspicion. I'll be fine." Her eyes closed softly as she slipped back into unconsciousness.

Even though Dean didn't want to admit it he said, "She's right. There is no explanation that won't call for a police investigation." His jaw tightened.

"Can't you heal her, Cas?" Sam asked, realizing they were running out of options.

"No…" He said with a somber tone.

"Why the hell not?" Dean snapped.

Castiel sighed. "They branded her with a symbol that separates her from the power of angels. The only thing that I can do is simple physical contact. I can do nothing beyond that."

Dean cursed under his breath. "Why would they brand her?"

"The symbol stands for much more than just separation of angels. It also represents what she is. I've never actually seen one. It's ancient…older than myself. It's not much younger than God really. It stands for possession… meaning that-" He didn't even want to finish the thought.

"What Cas?" Sam asked, not sure if he wanted to know the answer.

"Do you know the saying 'they carry the weight of the world on their shoulders'?"

"Yeah."

"This is where it comes from. The brand was made on her left shoulder. She now carries the burden of the creatures she is a part of. Meaning that everything that is mixed in her DNA she is now responsible for. It's a punishment from her father…for choosing friends that are hunters instead of her own kind… and angels instead of demons."

"And there is nothing we can do?" Dean asked, his hands tightening around the steering wheel.

"No… Besides destroying every threat to monsters, there is absolutely nothing we can do. Every time a creature is killed, there will come great pain, and then a piece of her will die along with it."

"God, dammit!" Dean snapped, hitting the steering wheel with his palm. "Why can't He give her a break? It's one thing after another! It's not her fault that she's a monster, it's His! God created this thing so He can take it away!"

Sam was silent, as was Castiel.

"It's not fair… It shouldn't have been her."

"Then it would have just been some other poor soul." Castiel chimed in.

"Look at her, Cas! If they brought the top ten people on this earth that didn't deserve this, she would have won hands down."

"She's also the toughest." Sam said simply, as if that meant anything to Dean.

"She was made that way! Hell, the prom queen would have grown a pair by now if she was put in this position."

"No, Dean. It had to be this way. She is the only one that is able to rough it all the way to the end. This was her destiny and she knew it." Castiel argued, even though the words tasted bitter coming from his mouth.

Robyn woke just enough to mutter, "Guys… are we there yet?"

_Five minutes later:_

They rushed Robyn into the motel room, laying her on her stomach on one of the beds. They grimaced as they saw the amount of blood and tearing of her skin. Dean took out his knife and carefully cut down the middle of the shirt's back. It was only then when he was really able to see the symbol forever imprinted on her shoulder. It seemed to have a fiery glow to it because of the scarred and burned skin it had created. The boys were surprised when they realized that it was just a very intricate cross. They didn't focus on this long as they saw how deep the cuts on her back really were.

"Dean, get thread and the needle. We need to sew her up…fast." Sam said as he watched Dean go to retrieve the items.

"Remember, she will not die." Castiel said, trying to comfort Sam.

"I know, Cas. But I can't see her like this. And I know that Dean will have a stroke if this keeps up. He's been in a constant state of worry about her since she joined. They have a bond like family."

"You know… she loves you too." Castiel said after a short silence.

Sam smiled slightly. "That's just because she doesn't have to ability to do anything but love."

"Or maybe you're her family too."

Dean ran into the room with the needle and thread and passed them off to Sam. It didn't take long for him to start stitching her up. They all concentrated eager for this part to be over. The waiting seemed endless.

Finally, Robyn began opening her eyes as they were just finishing wrapping up her wounds with gauze.

"Looks like someone got one hell of a good sleep." Dean said, with a look of pure relief plastered on his face.

"Yeah…" She said, sitting up carefully, wincing.

"You okay?" Sam asked, placing a gentle hand on her arm.

"He just…left me there. He didn't even try to help me."

"Who?"

"It doesn't matter." She said, not meeting anyone's eye.

"It sure looks like it matters to you." Dean joined in.

"Well, it does, Dean. But not to you." She suddenly seemed angry.

Dean suddenly remembered something Robyn had sad back at her house. "Your dad…you're talking about your dad."

Robyn said nothing.

"Can I talk to her for a minute? Alone." Dean asked, looking from both Castiel to Sam. They both nodded and Sam got up from his seat on the bed which Dean occupied next. Cas just disappeared from inside the room, leaving the two alone.

"Look, I'm going to tell you something that is really going to suck to hear, but you gotta listen. You understand?"

Again she said nothing. She didn't even acknowledge that he was talking.

"He doesn't care about you."

"Fuck you, Dean!" She glared at him. The pain in her eyes wasn't from the agony that lingered on her back, but something much deeper. Dean recognized it well. Rejection. The pain of knowing that the one person that you need to love you, doesn't, or doesn't show it.

"I told you that you need to listen!" Dean shouted back, but despite him raising his voice, it was soft. Making her know that he cared when her father doesn't. "He just wants you on his side so he can kill you later when he doesn't need you anymore."

"Shut up!" She shouted, pushing him away roughly, hurting herself in the process, but she gritted her teeth to hide the pain. "You don't know anything about it! He's my father, he has to love me!"

"No… he doesn't. He should, but that doesn't mean he does." Now Dean wished he hadn't said anything, but he knew that he had to. It was the right thing but the look on her face suggested otherwise.

"Leave me alone… Stop acting like you're my father! All of you just want me on your side because you can't kill me! You don't give a shit!" Robyn couldn't remember where those words came from but they felt familiar.

Dean acted on impulse. He grabbed her shoulders roughly, making her look him in the eyes. "Stop it right now." He ordered. "Don't start accusing me of not caring, because I do… more than anything. You are not a weapon! But if you start turning on us, you will become one. Your _father_ will turn you into one. He doesn't love you." He hesitated. "But we do. We do _love _you."

"Well…I _hate _you."

Dean immediately let go like he had just been shot.

_That night:_

Robyn had a knot in her stomach ever since she said that terrible phrase. She knew that she didn't mean it, but Dean sure as hell didn't. The look on his face sure expressed that pretty well. But he just kept pushing and pushing and the pain from her wounds were starting to make her head swim… and the pain from what he was saying. Dean hadn't said another word all night. He wouldn't even look at her. She didn't blame him of course. She couldn't look at herself in the eye either. She had cut him just like he had been cutting her except she cut much deeper and faster before he barely even started. She wished that she could just tell him that she didn't mean it and hug him, but it was too little too late. And the word _love_ was foreign coming from her mouth, even though on an emotional level, she let it fly.

Robyn studied the sleeping faces and made her choice. She had to leave. Fighting back tears with a clenched jaw, she pulled on a shirt over her bandaged torso and without any noise, escaped through the door. In that crippling silence, she left her family behind.

As she walked down the deserted sidewalk through the city, a man in a trench coat approached her. She recognized him immediately.

"Don't, Cas."

"Don't what?"

"Don't stop me. It's better this way."

"I wasn't going to stop you…"

"Then what do you want?"

Castiel stared at her for a moment and shook his head. "I'm not going to stop you…this is your decision, but it isn't a wise one you're making."

"I don't want to hear it. It has to be done." She argued.

"You don't realize what you're leaving."

"Yes, I do."

"Then why are you leaving?"

"Because, I'm screwing everything up! I wasn't meant to be a part of a family, Cas. I was meant to be alone…"

"Why?"

"Because, I'm a monster. And I will always be a monster. I already hurt Dean…"

"He's a hunter. Whatever you said, I'm sure he will be okay."

"No…It's just not going to work. Not this time."

The angel sighed heavily. "Fine. But I want you to have something…" He said as he reached into his coat pocket and retrieved a folded up piece of paper, holding it out to the young girl. "This belonged to you. I snatched it from your room."

Robyn gently took the piece of paper and unfolded it, revealing the picture she had drawn when she was so much younger. Her old family. She had painted this the day that her family "died". She saw Castiel in the middle of the painting and smiled softly. The folded the artwork back up and hugged her guardian angel tightly. "I'll miss you so much…all of you."

"Then don't leave." Castiel suggested, obviously confused by her choice.

"I have to…" She said, releasing him. "Can you tell Dean that I really am sorry? I didn't mean what I said. And, can you tell him that I love him? Sam too."

Castiel took a deep breath and put a hand on her shoulder. "Yes. I will be sure to tell them that."

She nodded. "Goodbye…Cas."

"Goodbye." He watched her begin to walk away. "And Robyn,"

She turned to look at him.

"Be careful…don't get yourself killed."

Robyn smiled slightly. "I'll try not to."

And with that, they parted ways.

_Dean:_

He had been awake, hearing the slight, tender sounds of footsteps. For an instant, he could see the light of streetlamps as the door to their room cracked open. Then the light disappeared as the door closed again. He knew what had left… _who_ had left, but he made no effort to stop her. If she hated him so much, then she should leave. His throat tightened as he lay there in complete darkness, listening to Sam's quiet, rhythmic breathing. He tried to tell himself that everything would be okay with her gone, but he knew that he was lying to himself. He would miss her. It would be like losing his best friend. Hell, it would be like losing his daughter. But he was too damn stubborn to go after her.

Little did either of them know that it was this stubbornness that would lead them all into the toughest fight for survival any of them ever witnessed. And it would surely be the most painful for all of them.


	12. Other Family

Sam woke early in the morning, thinking he was the first to discover the empty bed. Dean was shaken awake by his frantic brother.

"Dean, she's gone!"

Dean pushed Sam off of him. "I know." He said calmly.

Sam stopped. "You…you know? Well, where did she go?"

"Hell if I know."

"You're joking, right?"

"Nope," Dean said as he rolled over on his side, trying to go back to sleep.

Sam just stared at his brother. "So, you're giving up?"

"No, Sam." Dean said, annoyance creeping into his voice as he sat up. "I'm not giving up. She wanted to leave so I let her leave. She's old enough to make her own decisions."

"She's 16, Dean…"

"And pretty damn mature if you ask me."

Sam shook his head. "Whatever she said to you…she doesn't deserve this. She's lost everyone, and now you are just one more that she can add to that list."

"She ditched us!" Dean snapped, getting to his feet.

"Did she? Or did you push her? Just like dad." Sam just looked at Dean, watching his face twist in hidden agony. "I'm going to find her… you can come if you want, or you can stay here."

"I'll stay here." Dean grumbled.

"Okay…"

Sam pulled on some fresh clothes and walked out of the cheap motel room, frustrated with Dean. He knew that he cared, but he just wasn't going to show it. Not now, that was for sure.

After Sam was gone, Castiel appeared in the room.

"Oh God, not you…" Dean groaned.

"I guess that this isn't a good time?"

"Not particularly."

"Because of Robyn?"

"That has something to do with it… how did you know?"

"Oh, well because I spoke to her last night. When she left."

"What?" Dean asked, surprised. "Why didn't you convince her to stay?"

Now Castiel was the one to look confused. "It seems to me that you were the one to let her walk out the door."

"You could have said something to her!"

"The both of you acted like you had said what you needed to say. And that was the choice she made as the result."

Dean ran a careful hand through his short brown hair. "Well, what am I supposed to do now, Cas? She obviously doesn't want to come back."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Pretty damn sure!"

Castiel nodded. "She said she loved you by the way."

"What?" Dean just stared at the angel in front of him, soaking in this new information.

"Last night. After she left. She told me to tell you and Sam that she loved you both."

Dean suddenly felt sick. His insides felt like they all clenched at once. "I have to get her back." Dean muttered as he grabbed his jacket.

Castiel sighed. "There is something else that you should know…"

_Three Hours Earlier:_

Robyn was sound asleep, 20 miles away from the old motel on a park bench. She was getting a lot faster and certainly felt a lot stronger. Whatever they branded on her shoulder was really helping her control her power. She loved it. All of a sudden, she was woken violently as a freezing cold hand shook her shoulder, sending ice down her spine. Her eyes shot open and she nearly rolled off the bench but a huge body stopped her.

"Calm down," came a strong, deep voice next to her. It was her father. She sat up and looked at the man, her jaw clenching against a wave of emotion.

"Wh-What are you doing here?"

He knelt down, getting level with her. "I want to take you home." His voice was chilling and didn't have any ounce of real emotion, but Robyn smiled, either not noticing or just choosing not to.

"Home?"

"Yes, Robyn. Home. I want to give you a real family. Not some hunters who just want to use you."

"They…they didn't."

"Oh, please. You know that one guy? Not the eight foot tall guy, but the other one… what is his name?" He asked, pretending to rack his brain in search for the answer. He didn't give a shit about this guy's name.

"Dean?"

"Yes, that one. He was awake when you left. He didn't even bother to stop you. He doesn't care about you. Not really." He cherished the look of pain that consumed her face and plagued her emotion.

"How do you know all this?" She choked

"Because I've been watching you. From a distance of course, I didn't want to risk those murderers seeing me."

"He…really doesn't care?"

"No. He doesn't." His eyes seemed to glow with a kind of happiness in the dark of the night.

"Okay." She said after a while.

"Okay what?"

"I'll go with you."

"You act like that's a bad thing."

"No. It's not. It's just…new."

He tousled her hair as any father would. Or he assumed. He never even remembered holding her when she was a child. He had no idea how fathers were supposed to act, and frankly, he didn't care. He had his weapon.

_Present:_

"She wouldn't go with him…would she?" Sam asked in the passenger's seat of the Impala after being pushed aside as Dean pushed by him on the search for Robyn.

"She did." Castiel said sadly.

"But, why?"

"Why not?" Dean interrupted. "He's her father. Her legitimate family."

"But, she's not evil."

"I know, and she doesn't know that her father is." Castiel explained.

"The man had her kidnapped and tortured! With a question that they knew she wouldn't know!"

"She didn't make the connection. She just saw her father and the pain stopped. To her, he saved her life."

"Dammit." Dean muttered softly. "Dammit! He's going to brainwash her, then we'll never get her back."

"That's their plan. And then once he has the whole world under his control, then heaven, Hell, purgatory…he will kill her. He might not even need her for that long."

_Robyn:_

"How do you like being able to control your abilities?" Her father asked with a slight smile.

At first, she didn't understand what he was asking, but then she realized that everything she had been in almost complete control. It felt wonderful. "It's great." She said, but her voice seemed… off.

"What's the matter?"

She shook her head. "It's nothing. It's just that I've never been in control of this before, but I've always dreamed that one day I would be. Now that I am… I don't know, it just doesn't feel right." She looked up at him, catching the angry look flash across his face. "Why are you mad?"

Through clenched teeth, he said, "I've done all of this for you, and you don't even appreciate it."

"What are you talking about?"

"I've given you this gift. Now you can use your abilities for whatever you'd like. Nothing can hurt you. And yet, you don't smile. But you always smile with those damn hunters."

"Wait… you ordered the demon to… to torture me?"

"Of course! I was there, wasn't I?"

"I was half dead! I thought you were there to rescue me!"

Suddenly she felt an icy hand wrap around her throat. She tried to pry it off but he was too strong. "Don't you yell at me, brat. You think you can discipline me, for trying to help you? Who do you think you are? Tell me, do your wounds still hurt? Or do you only carry the scars?" His voice may as well have been the hiss of a serpent. He released her throat, allowing her to take in air greedily, oxygen stinging as it made its way into her lungs. In that moment, she realized that her back wasn't in any pain except for the constant burning feeling of the brand on her shoulder.

"That's what I thought…" He said flatly.

_The brothers and Cas:_

"Where would he take her?" Dean asked, glancing at Castiel in his rearview mirror.

The angel sighed heavily. "I don't have all the answers."

"You sure seemed to before." Dean snapped back.

Sam just looked at his brother, trying to communicate with him to calm down. Dean just stared at the road in front of him, feeling Sam's gaze but choosing to ignore it.

"Our connection was broken after they marked her. I have no way to know where she is anymore."

"So we just ride around blindly, _hoping_ that we come across something helpful." Dean observed.

"Unfortunately, yes."

Dean's hands tightened around the steering wheel. "She's not going to make it…"

"We have time to save her, Dean." Sam said, trying to settle Dean down.

Dean shook his head. "Since when were we given _enough _time? We are going to be too late."

"She's stronger than you give her credit for."

"I know that."

"Then why are you writing her off so quick?"

"Because she's so god-damn naïve! She doesn't know who her friends are! And right now she is probably putting all of her faith into a monster that we can't save her from! And she doesn't even know that she needs saving."

"Nobody knows that they need saving." Sam countered. "But she's smart. She will figure it out."

"She won't kill her father."

"No." Castiel joined in after being silent for so long. "She won't. Unless she has a reason."

"What kind of a reason?" Sam asked.

Castiel looked from Sam, to Dean, then back to Sam. "You two are her reasons. The night when she broke the boy's arm, she was defending you, Dean." He looked at the man in the driver's seat who was fighting so hard for control.

"She's being turned against us right now." Dean argued.

"That's true, but that just means that you are going to have to turn her back."

"How?"

"Be her friend."

"We are her friends."

"I know that. She knows that. But she's blind right now. Both of you are all the family she has left, but she has had a hard time seeing what was in front of her since she was a small child."

"Then how the hell are we supposed to pull this off?" Dean asked, his voice starting to reveal how scared he was. "We can't even find her."

_Robyn:_

She walked with her hands in her pockets. Her left hand fiddled with the folded up piece of paper with the drawing she had done so long ago. It was right around this moment when she was asking herself if she made a mistake. She missed Sam, Dean and Castiel. She was beginning to wonder why her guardian angel let her leave. She grinded her teeth, fighting a wave of pain as she thought of how nobody tried to stop her. Castiel had told her it was a bad idea, but nothing more than that. When she focused back on where they were going, she nearly ran into her father as he stopped abruptly.

"This is it." He said with a sick smile.

Robyn looked around. She saw the warehouse and her heart felt like it was being torn apart. "But…this is where Paul died. This can't be the place."

Her father turned and looked at his daughter with disappointment. "You mean murdered. This is where your brother was murdered. Or presumably so. He is actually quite alive."

Robyn's eyes widened. "Alive? Pauly's alive?"

"You think you were the only one with the monster DNA? Well, you certainly have more than Paul. He isn't exactly as special as you are, but he is much harder to kill than a regular Rugaru."

"Where is he?" She asked, excitement filling her voice, as if she had forgotten that the reason he was killed was because he was the one about to kill her.

"Inside."

Robyn ran to the door of the warehouse, throwing it open and darting inside without a second thought. "Paul! Pauly!" Robyn shouted, looking for her brother.

"Robyn?" Came a voice from a separate room.

She ran into the room where she thought the voice came from and saw her brother standing there with a grin plastered on his face. His jagged, sharp teeth were exposed and any normal person would have been disgusted, especially after what happened the last time they saw each other. But, she ran to her brother, wrapping her arms around him, hugging him as tightly as she could. With slight hesitation, he hugged her back. He was cold, but not as cold as her father.

"I haven't seen you in so long." Paul said, his grin fading into a simple smile.

"I know." She responded, not letting go. Her father eventually pulled her off.

"Enough with the reunion." Peter said sternly. Paul actually had a sad look on his face as Robyn was pulled away from him.

"It's time for you to start getting yourself under control. Understand?"

"Yes, sir." She said softly, not liking this at all. She didn't want to learn right now. She just wanted to talk to Paul. "Can I ask a question first?"

Peter sighed heavily. "What is it?"

"Since you and Paul are alive, I was just wondering…"

"If your mother is alive, too?"

Robyn was silent.

"No." He answered thickly. "She's not. She's been dead for years, you should come to terms with that now."

"I came to terms with you dying and now here you are." Robyn countered.

"Watch what you say. Just because we are family doesn't mean that you can give a voice to whatever you're thinking around me."

As the words came out of his mouth, all she could think of was how she was allowed to say anything around her other family. Her other family… part of her couldn't believe that she just thought that. It seemed like a sin now that she stood with her father and her brother. How could she have another family? She couldn't…she left them behind. With a shake of the mind, she ignored the thoughts completely, deciding that she just needed to forget about Sam, or Castiel… or Dean.


	13. Too Late

Weeks passed by and very slowly, Robyn was gaining control over her power. Although, she wasn't sure of the extent of it. In fact, nobody was, but there was only so much you could do in an abandoned factory in the middle of a city. But, there weren't many other places they could go. Her father wasn't too worried. He was of course, confident that he had her under complete control, and even if she turned on him, he would always be stronger.

"Hey, how are you holding up?" Her brother, Paul asked, sitting on the floor next to Robyn.

"Alright." She said softly. "I'm just exhausted."

"Well, you've been training non-stop. And when you aren't training, you're beating yourself up about those hunters, which I don't understand. This is the first time I've seen you sit still."

She looked at her brother with her inhuman green eyes. "I know. I just really miss them. That's all."

Paul frowned. "Look, I know you miss them, but don't you like being with your family?"

"I like being with you. But, they were my family."

"You know dad hates it when you say shit like that." Paul said. He didn't seem to be angry, but instead looked around nervously, as if trying to see if their father had actually heard anything.

"I know that, Paul. But, it's true. I needed them."

Her brother's face relaxed, their father nowhere to be seen. "Listen," He said with the same degree of softness that Robyn used. "I'm sorry that we weren't there for you. And you don't know how damn sorry I am for what happened… I was just so angry for such a long time that I couldn't see straight."

Robyn smiled. He had been apologizing ever since she got there. "I know. It's okay. I'm just glad you're back to normal. I missed you a lot."

Paul nodded sadly. He had to make it up to her. "I'm going to go for a walk. I'll see you tomorrow, okay? Get some sleep. You look like you're running on fumes." He said as he got to his feet. He picked up his jacket from a hook that was screwed onto the wall next to the big factory doors. He pulled it on and pulled up the hood so his face was fully concealed before finally walking out into the chilling night air.

_Sam and Dean:_

Dean sat on an old bed in a ratty motel. The same motel they had stayed at when they first met Robyn. Since they lost her, Dean never smiled. To him, it felt like a sin to smile when Robyn wasn't protected. They were in Baltimore, hoping to maybe find some trace of her somewhere, but so far they had no luck.

"Dean, you need to get some sleep. You're exhausted." Sam said with a worried look.

"I'm fine…" Dean muttered, not even bothering to look up from his bare feet.

"We are going to find her."

"Are we?" Dean asked.

"Yes, Dean, we are. So stop looking so defeated."

Dean got to his feet, looking up at his brother. "What do you think we are going to find? Huh, Sammy?" Dean asked. Before Sam was allowed to answer, Dean continued, "Even if we find her, it won't be Robyn. It will be some brainwashed version of her. Do we really want to see that? It'll be the final nail in my coffin, Sam."

"Why are you giving up? Ever since you found out she was gone, it's like you just stopped trying! It's not you who gets to decide whether to give up or not, it's her! So stop trying to make the decision for her!"

"Just keep saying that, Sammy. We lost Robyn the day that her father came into the picture. Would we have been any different? If dad came back when we were that age and promised to spend every waking moment with us? Hell, I would have jumped at the chance."

"Then I guess she's just a little stronger than you, Dean." Sam said coldly, intentionally trying to get Dean riled up. He wanted him to feel something instead of just drowning in his sea of bitter depression.

Dean's jaw clenched. Sam had been expecting this as he watched Dean's fists ball up and one of them began hurtling towards his face. Sam took the hit square in the jaw but pushed Dean back roughly, not intending to take another for the sake of his brother unless the situation really called for it. Dean landed on his back on the motel floor, but didn't stay there long before rising to his feet, lunging at Sam hoping to land another hit. It would have escalated into an all out brawl if there hadn't been a knock on the door.

Dean stopped dead in his tracks. Who would it be this late at night? He looked at Sam before grabbing the holy water that had been resting on the bedside table. They both approached the door carefully. Sam looked through the peephole, only to see a hooded figure that was rocking from one foot to the other, casually waiting for the door to open before impatiently rapping on the door once again, starting to believe that the boys weren't home. Sam put a hand on the doorknob and looked at Dean before opening the door a crack.

"Who are you supposed to be?" Sam asked, holding the water at his side.

"Can I come in? Look, I know you guys. Sam and Dean Winchester. You know me too, but we aren't exactly on good terms, but I have some really important information that you would be really interested in. Could I come in please?"

"You didn't answer the question. Who are you? And what kind of information?"

The stranger sighed. "I think it's best if I come inside before I tell you. This could cause a disturbance and it's not a good idea to draw attention to ourselves."

Sam looked at Dean who shrugged. Sam opened the door the rest of the way, moving to the side in order to allow the stranger to walk inside. Sam closed the door quickly, turning to the hooded figure, waiting for an explanation.

The stranger turned and looked at the boys. "Okay, I'm going to ask that you don't move. The information I have is a lot more important than who I am. Keep that in mind." He said, holding a defensive hand out as his other hand moved towards his hood which came down slowly, revealing his grey, veiny face.

Neither brother was sure whether to be happy about the visitor or kill him on the spot. The last time that they saw each other, he had tried to kill them and Robyn.

"Paul." Sam was the first to speak. "Talk fast. You don't have much time"

Paul sighed with what sounded like relief. "I know where Robyn is. I know you guys have been looking for her and I know that she has been hoping that you would find her. Secretly, I was too…" He said, glancing around nervously, like he was expecting someone to overhear. "You guys were supposed to be the best."

Neither brother looked amused. "Just tell us where she is." Sam demanded, taking a step toward Paul, making him take a step back, and flattening himself against the wall.

"Okay, you remember the warehouse? That's where she is." Paul explained quickly.

Both Sam and Dean looked at each other like they were idiots. Why the hell hadn't they thought of that?

"But, you can't just go in there expecting to pick her up like its daycare. You have to make a choice. If you go in there, there is a huge chance that you won't make it out. He changed her. You wouldn't know it by looking at her, but the second he wants her to, she might turn on you. So, it's either risk death, or give up now." Paul looked genuinely sad. He was different somehow than when they had their first encounter. Something had definitely changed.

"Will you help us?" Sam asked suddenly.

"You guys are going to do it?" Paul asked, surprised.

"Robyn's not a monster. We can get her back."

Paul smiled, exposing those sharp, jagged teeth.

"Will you help us or not?" Dean asked, more forcefully.

"Yes. Of course. But if you guys fail, then my ass is dead."

"I think we can live with that." Dean said with a slight nod.

"Thanks, man…" Paul said sarcastically.

_Warehouse:_

"Where the hell is Paul?!" Peter shouted from another room but quickly making his way to where Robyn was being roughly awakened from only an hour of sleep.

"He said he was going for a walk." She yawned as she looked up at her father, her eyes heavy.

Her father cursed loudly which confused Robyn as she got to her feet slowly, stretching, only to be interrupted by Peter grabbing her shoulders tightly, causing her to wince.

"They are coming." He said simply.

"Who? What are you talking about?"

"Those fucking hunters you are so in love with!" He shouted, letting go of her with a little push, making her step back.

Robyn knew what this meant, but she had to try something else. "Alright, let's leave then. I still need more training." There was desperation in her voice.

"No. You're ready. You can kill a couple humans easy. I'll take care of your brother."

This caught her off guard. "What? What are you going to do to him?"

"Kill him! He's the one who's bringing them here!"

It felt like the world was falling apart. "But, he's your son! You can't kill him!"

"He's a traitor. He deserves to die."

She shook her head. "I don't want you to do that. I don't want to do this at all." She said, her voice cracking which only made her father even angrier.

"What are you about to cry for?! Do you want me to abandon you just like everyone else?! Why do you think Paul's bringing them here? So they can take you back? Why the hell would they do that if they let you go in the first place? They want to kill you and me! Is that really what you want?"

Robyn believed him, but somewhere inside she knew she shouldn't. "Okay…" She said in almost a whisper. "I'll take care of them…"

"Good." Peter said gruffly. "At least you aren't completely useless." He walked away to where he knew Paul would be.

Robyn forced herself to stand tall even though she just wanted to curl up and sleep and maybe one day wake up to realize this all was a sick dream. But then she heard the noises outside and she let out a quick pitiful sound of pain and sadness, knowing it was time.

_Outside:_

"Okay. You two go in this side… I'll go around." Paul ordered quickly as he began to run off.

"Wait just a damn second." Dean said as quietly as he could without yelling. "How do we know this isn't a trap?"

"Leave if you want to…" Paul said sadly. "But I'm going in either way. If you want to get Robyn then do it. But if you don't, for the love of God don't let her see you. That would kill her." He continued running to his side of the building.

"What do you think?" Dean asked, turning to Sam.

Sam sighed. "We have to get her back." He said it like there wasn't another option at all. Dean agreed.

"Alright. Well, let's go."

They waited until they heard Paul's signal which was just a regular old whistle. They weren't very creative in that department. But nonetheless Dean smashed the window with the butt of his Smith & Wesson which he knew wouldn't end up helping too much, but it might slow a few things down. Both Sam and Dean climbed through the busted window. Once they were inside, they saw Robyn immediately. They wished they hadn't.

She stood there, her teeth razor sharp, the whites of her eyes glowing green and silver markings covering her body. Just like she had been the night she broke that boy's arm. She stared at them and they stared back. Nobody moved.

"I'm so sorry…" Dean said softly, the pain in his voice vibrated throughout the room.

Robyn continued to just look at them. It looked like she had control of herself. Right now at least. She finally opened her mouth to speak.

"You're too late…"


	14. Seventeen

Those words struck all of them off guard, including Robyn herself.

"Robyn, please." Sam said, looking at the monster in front of them.

She shook her head. "You were never my family… I know that now." The voice wasn't Robyn's. It was raspy and dark. "You know what has to happen here."

"Nothing _has_ to happen." Dean argued. "You can come home. Be happy. Remember? We _are_ your family. Families fight sometimes, but then they come back together. There is nothing stronger than family."

"He's right." Came a new voice from behind the brothers. It was Castiel.

"You're a liar. All of you. You can't stop me this time, Cas. I'm stronger than any angel."

"I know." Was all that Castiel had to offer.

"Why did you guys have to come?" Her voice was thick with frustration. "You could have just left me alone and you could just go on with your lives!"

"We all know you don't want to do this." Sam said carefully

"Then you know that I _have_ to do this…"

"Then why haven't you moved?" Castiel asked.

"Because I need a reason!"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I need you to attack me first."

"There she is." Dean chimed in with a slight smile. Everyone was confused. "Robyn can't kill anything in cold blood. Now a monster could. This isn't a monster, it's Robyn. Once she decides to lose the teeth and the creepy green eye thing."

She seemed to disappear for a split second. Dean went crashing against the wall and there Robyn appeared, holding onto his jacket collar. Dean winced a little at first but then just looked down at her, no fear in his eyes. Sam and Castiel watched intently. "You don't have the heart. Stop trying to be something you're not. Who wants to be a monster? I know you don't. I know you. Robyn McKenzie. All you want is to be normal. All you want is a family and for people to care. But everyone just keeps pushing and pushing you, waiting for you to snap."

She let go of his jacket roughly, taking a few steps back. "You know nothing about me." She said as he hands began to glow white. With just a flick of her wrist, Dean was sent hurtling across the room, skidding across the cold floor. Sam tried to run to the aid of his brother but she quickly put her hand up and he stopped in his tracks, a blinding pain jolting through him. She began to approach Dean who was now slowly getting to his feet. Castiel appeared in between the two of them. He used the same trick that he had used when Robyn had tried to kill the boy. But this time Robyn kept coming. It just looked like she was being hit with a slight breeze.

"I told you. I'm stronger than you now. So get out of the way!" She didn't even have to make any movement this time as Cas crumpled to the ground, clutching at his stomach like his insides were being ripped apart. Robyn moved him to the side as she continued to approach Dean. He looked at her for a long moment, no fear in his eyes. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth and a big, swelling bruise began to form on his left eye.

"Before you do this, can I ask you something?"

She just looked at him, her jaw clenched tightly. "What?"

"Remember the first real fight we got in? When you wandered off to get something to drink and we didn't know where you were?"

"Yeah." She said softly. "That was a year ago. Back when we first met."

Dean smiled. "Right. But after that, do you remember what me and Sam asked you?"

Despite her monstrous appearance, she looked almost human. "Of course. That was when you asked if I would come with you guys."

"And you said yes."

She looked away from him. "So? That has nothing to do with right now." The pain that Sam and Castiel had been feeling was dying away and Castiel was finally able to rise to his feet.

"It has everything to do with right now." Dean continued. "Do you think your father would have done the same?"

"You don't know him…"

"But you do. So, what's the answer?"

Robyn couldn't give one. Or she just didn't want to admit it.

"We came here to get you back. That's what a real family does. Who gives a shit if we aren't blood? We know you, and we care what happens to you. But before you go on, there is just one more thing."

Robyn just looked at him. She didn't have a choice. Why couldn't anyone understand that? "What?" She asked, her voice so human that it was almost normal.

"While you were gone, we missed your birthday." At that, he reached into his pocket. "We know that after all this time you never lost faith in God. For whatever reason, you stuck with the guy…so here. It's from all of us." He pulled out the necklace that Sam had given him when he was a kid, a little younger than Robyn herself. He had discussed it with Sam and they agreed that it should be passed down. "Whenever the big guy is close, it burns red hot." He placed it around her neck.

Robyn looked at Dean, then at Sam, then at Castiel. Then, as if they had practiced, they all said in unison, "Happy seventeenth."

Blood began to stream from her eyes as she backed away from Dean, trying to wipe away the blood from her face, only smearing it more. She fell to her knees and her eyes began flickering back to normal. She put her palms on the ground as the silver markings began to recede and her teeth dulled into acceptable human sized teeth. Dean walked up to her, kneeling to get to her level. Her head rose up so she could look at him. Wasting no time, she wrapped her arms around his neck and he just hugged her back. They finally stood up and Robyn looked over at Sam and Castiel.

"I'm sorry." She said. "I'm so sorry."

Without a word, Sam hugged her tightly. Castiel wasn't sure what to do. He wasn't much of a hugger. When Sam let go, Robyn walked over to Cas, "I'm sorry I picked the wrong side. I'm sorry I disappointed you."

"I never doubted you. I knew you would choose the right side. I was never disappointed."

Robyn hugged him tightly. Castiel gave an awkward half hug back. Everyone was silent. Everything that needed to be said was said.

That was when they heard the scream. Robyn knew what had happened immediately. "Paul!" She shouted, beginning to run in that direction, only to be cut off by Peter McKenzie at the doorway, hands covered in thick blood.

"He's taken care of. I hope you've done the same?" He asked as he looked around the room, seeing all three of them still alive and Robyn out of what he called her 'monster stage'. "Why the hell are they still breathing?"

Robyn backed away from him quickly, nearly tripping over her own two feet. She was terrified. "I-I…I don't want to."

"Y-y-you d-don't want to? Is that what you were trying to say? Fix the stutter next time you want to try out your new brave face." His voice was harsh and cruel.

"Hey! Buddy, why don't you ease up a little?" Dean shouted.

"Dean, don't." Robyn begged.

"I don't believe you. You are going to let that human live who insults your own father?"

Robyn looked at the three of them and with all the confidence she could muster, she said, "Yes."

He looked stunned for a moment. "Okay. Okay, fine. I'll go ahead and take care of them, and you can just sit and watch them die, because I'm not going to make it quick. And just remember, it'll be your fault they will die painfully."

"Don't count on it." Sam said evenly, staring at the monster as it started to approach them. Both Sam and Dean began shooting at it, but it just kept coming. They had seen how fast Robyn was, so this guy was just playing with them. He was getting dangerously close before Robyn ran in front of him.

"I won't let you kill them." She said forcefully.

"Robyn. Get out of the way!" Sam shouted. "Don't do anything stupid!"

"He will kill you. You know that he does not care." Castiel said.

"He will kill all of you too! I can't just watch…"

"Before you were such a good little soldier. Now you are no better than them. Turning against your own kind. Coward." Peter said, his voice cold.

Robyn just stared at him a moment and a little smile grew on her face. "Coward? I'm looking you in the face, which is a little like staring death in the eyes. I know that you could kill me! I know how much stronger you are than me! But I'll be damned if I let you get past me! If you knew even half the shit I've been through, you'd be running away as fast as you fucking can! We will just see who the coward is!" Now she understood. She understood why Castiel had left her on her own for so long. If he hadn't, then there would be no way she would be prepared for this moment. She would have probably been either dead already or running as fast as she could in the other direction. She glanced back at Castiel, wanting him to know that now she knew what he had done, and that she was grateful for everything. If she died, she needed him to know that.

Her father grabbed her by the collar of her shirt, pulling her close to the point where he face was only a few inches away from his. "You have no _idea_ what real fear is. But don't worry. I'll show you. You will regret _everything._ Right down to every second of your little life you ungrateful little cu-"

He was cut off by Robyn who in her perspective had something really important to say. "Your breath stinks."

Peter looked genuinely confused. He was now contemplating on how the hell this kid had come from him. Even Sarah, her mother didn't act like this. If she had, she would have been dead a lot sooner. And she didn't even act like this before. Just a few moments ago she had been a scared little kid trying so hard to get his approval. Now she was confident and seemed even more powerful than she had before. Nobody could possibly change this fast.

"Where the hell did you come from?" He finally asked as if he was talking to a completely different person.

"Honestly, I don't know. Definitely not from you. But I did come from mom. And that boy you just murdered? That was my brother. I'm not sure if you knew that or not. His name was Paul." She pushed his hands off of her shirt collar. He didn't even react to it. It was just staring in shock. "You made him a monster but he was so much more than that, but you never let him show it. He loved music. His favorite band was Pink Floyd. He wanted to play guitar just like David Gilmour. But he also wanted to impress you and now his blood is staining your hands."

"Well, the same thing is going to happen to you." He said his voice turning into a growl. He had never been so angry before in his life. Nobody had ever talked to him that way. He began to turn into that monster, just like Robyn had done, except the markings that showed on his skin were more a sickly grey than silver.

"Robyn! Don't do this!" Dean shouted.

"Why? So you can fight him? I'm the only one that can kill him." She never took her eyes off of her father.

"Don't you dare die! You hear me?"

She smiled slightly. "I hear you." She looked back for a moment. It was like she knew that she was going to die and she accepted it. She looked at the three of them and mouthed the word, "_Run_," before she was hit on the side of her head, sending her crashing to the floor, her head bleeding.

"Go on. Change. Change into the monster."

She got to her feet and stared at him. "No. You don't get that satisfaction. If I die, I die human. But even now, I can still take you on. You won't touch any of them. Ever…"

He went to hit her again, but this time she stopped it with the palm of her hand, holding his arm there. This caught him off guard as she sent her other hand hurling towards his face, hitting him in the jaw, sending him flying backwards, skidding across the cement ground on his back. He got up slowly and nodded. "Alright. Killing you is going to be so much more fun than I thought."

"Don't worry. I'll try to make it as entertaining as I can." She said coldly. She glanced back again, seeing that the three of them were gone. Castiel must have taken them out of there. She smiled a little, just happy to know that they would be safe. She turned back to her father and just said, "Well? I don't have all day."

At that, he attacked. At first the fight was slow going, both of them saving their energy until they really needed it. Although to them it seemed like 20 minutes, really it was only around 2 and a half. They were moving so fast that all you could catch was a blur only at certain moments. They both were starting to get frustrated, reaching their patience limit. If it was one thing they shared, it was impatience and a temper. The finally stood motionless, breathing heavily. Both of them were bleeding, Robyn a little more so. She was definitely hurting a lot more. She had a huge gash in her forehead, the blood stinging her eyes. A steady flow of blood dripped to the floor from a wound on her leg a foot long and a deep slash mark across her stomach.

"I'm done playing with you." He hissed.

"Oh, good. I'm glad we've established that line." She was still trying to catch her breath.

"I swear, when I'm done with you, I'm going to find your friends and murder them slowly."

"Good luck. I told you I wouldn't let you pass by me and that's exactly what I mean." She was so tired now. She just wanted to go home. But right now she wasn't sure which motel was home tonight. Unlike him, she wasn't using her monster, although she was still not using her complete human self.

"What's going to stop me after you're dead?"

"I don't know. I'll figure it out if it comes to that point."

"I can't wait to finally watch that smart ass mouth of yours take its last breath."

"I guess I'll have to breathe through my nose then." She smirked.

He practically roared as he ran at her. She just stood there. She shut her eyes and began to pray softly. As she prayed she held on to the amulet that Sam, Dean and Castiel had given her. For a second she thought she felt it get hot, but then she realized that it was probably just because her hand was so hot with blood and sweat that it alone heated the thing up. But she kept praying right up to the moment she felt those cold, cruel hands hold tight to her neck, squeezing. She was being lifted up as he jumped into the air, almost all the way to the ceiling of the warehouse which was a good 30 feet before she felt herself plummeting to the cold cement floor. He was still holding on until the last second when he slammed her to the ground with the force of a 70 mile an hour car crash. The wind was knocked out of her and she knew that her ribs were broken. Probably all of them. She couldn't feel her legs so she knew that he spine was probably destroyed. She couldn't breathe very well and she knew that this was it. Now or never.

She looked over at him and just smiled. She rolled once away from him, biting back a scream of agony. He was approaching her but all of a sudden it was as if he had run straight into a wall. He looked down and what he saw nearly knocked the wind out of him. The whole time they had been fighting, she had been using her blood to form a circle in the center of the room. She had a hunch that since only one of their kind can kill another, then maybe only their blood can trap one another. Thank God she had been right. The next part she had only seen in her dreams, but she knew the words well. She began speaking Latin, each word a struggle as she fought to breathe.

"What are you doing?!" He shouted, looking like he was in pain. "Stop! Please!" He begged, falling to his knees as she continued.

"Please! I'm sorry!"

"Is that what Paul said?" She asked in the faintest of whispers. She reached over with her left hand and touched the edge of the bloody circle. It immediately was replaced by a bright green flame and the screaming got louder. Finally, she saw him burn and she knew exactly where he was. She had sent him to Purgatory where he would be trapped forever. She adjusted her head so she was staring at the ceiling. She couldn't move, she couldn't breathe. She heard quiet voices enter the warehouse. They sounded so frantic. She wanted to tell them to relax. Then she saw Dean's face above her. He was kneeling.

"We are going to fix you. Don't worry. You're going to be okay." He repeated those three lines what felt like a million times. She gathered the strength to grab onto his arm with her right hand as her left went to the amulet. She took one last intake of air before she said, "Close your eyes. All of you. It's burning." She let the breath run out of her as her head lulled to the side, a bloody tear rolling out of her right eye.

"Robyn!" Dean shouted. He knew it was over as her hand started to slide off of his arm. "Wait! Don't you die yet! Don't you dare die!" He felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned, looking up at Castiel.

"Dean. Close your eyes. There is nothing you can do now. He's coming." Dean, Sam and Castiel shut their eyes. Dean held on tightly to the lifeless hand that had been clutching his arm just a moment ago.

Just then, the brightest light that there ever was entered the room. Everyone shut their eyes tighter, feeling the presence in the room. Dean then heard a voice. It was warm and kind. "I know you don't trust me. But she will be okay." Dean wanted nothing more than to open his eyes, but at the same time he didn't want to burn to a crisp. But then he felt Robyn's hand disappear from his grasp and he couldn't help but look. The presence was gone and so was Robyn.

Dean just knelt there for the longest time, staring at the place where she had been.

"Seventeen…" He said softly, more to himself than to anyone else.

"How can she just disappear?" Sam asked, kneeling next to his brother. He was very nearly in as bad of a shape as Dean was.

Castiel suddenly appeared next to them. "I can't find her anywhere. Not in heaven or earth…"

"Wherever she went, she's okay."

"What?"

Dean just smiled up at them.

"She is okay."


	15. Happy

A year passed since that night. The memories plagued them all but no one spoke about it. It was too much. The only thing that gave them comfort was knowing that wherever she was, she was okay. At least, that's what Dean believed. But with every passing day that belief began to fade. He remembered how broken she looked as she laid there dying and him just sitting there, watching it happen. Eventually they got their lives back on track and Sam and Dean continued hunting. They pretended they were okay and that everything was normal for that year. Then a job called them out to a small college town just inside of Tennessee. One by one, students were being ripped apart on campus. One case even occurred in a student's room.

The Impala cruised onto the campus, taking a parking spot in front of the main building where all the students seemed to gather. The brothers got out of the car and looked around. After talking to a few students about the murders they all gave the same statement.

"It wasn't me, man. I didn't see anything."

After assuring each of the students that they weren't suspecting them, Dean became very frustrated. "I hate college kids." He muttered.

"You know, I was in college once. Remember?" Sam reminded him.

"Yeah. You're welcome by the way."

"For what?"

"For getting you the hell out of there. You are welcome."

Sam just rolled his eyes. In doing so, he thought he saw someone that looked so familiar. But they blended in to the crowd so fast that he couldn't tell.

"What do you say we go get some food?" Dean asked, although it wasn't really a question. It pretty much meant "We are getting food right now even if the sky starts falling."

Sam was still looking into the crowd, trying to figure out who he had seen.

"Sammy, you hearing me?"

"Yeah… alright yeah, let's go."

"What are you looking at?"

"Nothing." Sam said, finally looking away. "Just thought I saw something weird. Let's get going."

"Alright…"

They started walking towards a little cafe on the corner. There was really nothing else around which was annoying to Dean but Sam was okay with it. They walked inside, a little bell above the door ringing as Sam opened it. There were only three people ahead of them in line which made it a little more bearable for Dean. When they were next to go, the bell on the door rang and whoever came in was speeding because they didn't even notice the brothers standing there and crashed into them.

"Sorry. My bad." Came a soft voice.

Dean turned to tell her to watch it but then he saw her. He stood there, his voice getting caught in his throat. Sam looked the same. She didn't even notice their reactions as she moved past them.

"I'm sorry I'm late. I really do have a good reason. I-"

"I don't care. Just take over the register." The man sounded angry, but didn't want to yell in front of all the customers, so he apparently decided to wait. He must have been the manager.

She sighed heavily as she stepped behind the register and looked up. Both Sam and Dean's jaws hung open, no sound coming from either of them.

"Uh…can I help you two?" She asked, getting really freaked out by the two of them.

"Robyn…Robyn McKenzie." Sam finally blurted out.

"Close…you got Robyn right. I don't know where you got McKenzie from."

"You look… older."

She just stared at them for a moment. "Look, do I need to get my manager to take your order? He's pretty pissed already so I would really like it if you guys just told me what you want."

Dean finally spoke. "Coffee."

Robyn sighed. "Okay…gonna need a little more than that, stud. Do you want sugar or anything in the coffee?"

"Black…"

"Same." Sam added, placing a 5 dollar bill on the counter

"Okay. You guys can wait over there." She pointed to the very end of the counter. "As far as you can get away from me."

They just nodded in unison and walked over to where she had pointed. Once they were over there, they looked at each other and grinned.

"I told you!" Dean shouted, everyone in the place turning to look at him, including Robyn who was getting more and more freaked out by the two of them.

"I told you she was okay." Dean said, in a whisper now.

"But, why would she be here?" Sam asked.

"I don't know. Maybe she's checking out the case too."

"Dean, she has a job and doesn't remember us. I really doubt she's a hunter right now."

"So you're saying she _goes_ here?"

"Yeah. I think so."

Dean paused. "Damn it. I thought she was smart."

"It's college, Dean. Not jail."

"May as well be." Dean argued.

"Two black coffees." Came a hesitant voice from behind the counter. It was Robyn.

"Thank you…so much Robyn." Dean said with a smile.

"I don't know what's wrong with you guys, but you really need to back off. You guys are like forty and it's weird." Robyn said in a whisper so her boss wouldn't hear.

"Forty?" Dean nearly yelled. "There is no way I look forty."

"Okay. Whatever. I'm just saying that you guys need to work on social skills." She walked back to the register, leaving the two of them with their coffee.

"Do I really look forty?" Dean asked, sounding offended.

"No, Dean." Sam reassured him. "You could so pass for a college student."

"You know, you are a dick."

"Have you forgotten that Robyn is just behind the counter? Alive? Here? Right now?"

"Yeah, but I'm trying to figure out why she doesn't remember us." Dean said, unsure of how to react to the situation.

Sam sighed, "Maybe it's best if she doesn't."

"What? I can't believe you're saying that. We are her family. She has to remember us."

"We used to be. Back when she needed us." Sam didn't want to say it, but he knew that it was true.

"She still needs us." Dean tried to keep his voice low, but he was only getting angrier. "What if a demon comes for her? If she doesn't know about us, then she can't know about what she is. We have to protect her. Especially from whatever the hell is creeping around the campus. It's probably looking for her."

"So what do you want to do? You want to go up and tell her? Ruin the life that she has now so she can live the life of a hunter where everyone knows she's a monster?"

"She's not a monster and you know that."

"Who else does?" That was all Sam had to say to get Dean to just think for a second. They left the café and they didn't say a word to each other for hours.

Finally, Dean spoke up, "We have to keep an eye on her. Just until we solve this case."

"Okay. But after that we are gone. And we are not looking back." Sam confirmed.

Dean just nodded. "Tomorrow, we keep out of her sight, but she never leaves ours."

_The next morning:_

The murders were happening three days apart, so they didn't have to worry about anything until the next day. They went to find Robyn. They had no trouble at all. The first kid they went to ask seemed to have a pretty good idea.

"She's probably at the track meet." He said simply, like it should have been obvious.

"She does track?" Dean asked, surprised.

"Yeah. She's kind of the star runner."

Sam and Dean looked surprised. They asked the boy where the track field was and he gave them really quick directions before they ran off. They got to the field finally and stood beside the bleachers, keeping well out of sight. They saw her approach the starting line. This was the 500 meter sprint. Once all the runners were lined up, they were told to get ready.

_Robyn's POV:_

Robyn placed her fingertips on the ground, staring intently ahead she got her feet into position. The gun fired and everyone was off, running as fast as they could. All except for her. She was only running half of what she could really do and she was already pulling ahead and fast. She heard the cheering and she crossed the finish line beaming. She smiled as everyone else finally started to cross it. They were all out of breath, but Robyn was breathing like she had just taken a really slow walk.

_Sam and Dean:_

When the gun sounded, Dean couldn't help but cheer with the rest of the crowd as he watched her pull ahead. As he watched her cross that finish line, he looked like the proudest father that ever existed.

"Look at her! She won by a landslide! That is some serious talent." Dean shouted. Sam didn't have the heart to tell him that she had inhuman speed because she wasn't even human. He just let his brother be proud.

Everyone on the bleachers from her school came up and patted her on the back. Dean continued to watch with a smile on his face. Then he saw one tall, muscley boy come up to her and lifted her off her feet to kiss her. Sam had to grab Dean's arm so he wouldn't attack the boy.

"Are you seeing this?! "

"Dean. She's 18 now. You know that, right?"

"But, I- but" Dean sputtered. "That is not okay!"

"Okay. Go and tell her that. I'm sure she won't call the cops."

"Screw you, man." As he said that, and after she had accepted her medal, Robyn and this boy started walking away together. Sam and Dean followed at a distance. Sam thought his brother was going to have a heart attack when the boy pulled out a pack of cigarettes and offered one to Robyn, who accepted with a smile.

"I'm going to have a stroke. I'm developing an ulcer right now. I think my heart just stopped a little." Dean complained.

"Calm down, Dean. Remember how you acted when you were 18?"

"She had better not be doing what I was doing when I was 18. I think I'll kill her."

Sam rolled his eyes. "You're insane."

"Whatever."

This went on for the rest of that day. She seemed safe enough. But more than that, she seemed so happy. She didn't have to worry about people calling her a monster because she was practically the star of the school. It was getting really dark by the time she finally got to her dorm. She and the boy she seemed to be with had gone separate ways just a few moments ago. She stood at the door for a moment almost as if she was just listening to something. The two brothers just looked confused. She finally walked inside. The boys had to know which dorm she was staying in, so they continued to follow. When they opened the door to the building, Robyn was there waiting for them.

"Okay. This has been going on all freaking day. You guys are creepy and really need to get the hell away from me." She demanded.

Sam and Dean exchanged looks. They reached into their pockets and pulled out their F.B.I badges.

"We are sorry to bother you ma'am but we are just investigating the murders that are occurring on campus. I'm agent Thomas and this is agent Rhoads." Dean explained.

She suddenly seemed nervous. "What does that have to do with me?" She asked, breaking eye contact.

Their hearts sank. She was involved and they knew it. She might even be the one murdering the students. With a clenched jaw Sam said, "We have reason to believe that the killer might be targeting you next."

"Why do you think that?"

"That is classified information, ma'am."

"Well, instead of following me around, why don't you figure out who the guy is?"

"We have been assigned to your protection for the time being. We have been ordered to keep an eye on you just as a safety precaution." Dean answered as calmly as he could.

"Okay…fine. But you aren't staying in my dorm."

"Understood. We will be watching the building from the outside at all times."

She nodded. "Well, good night then." She said as she went to her dorm. When she was out of sight and out of earshot, they looked at each other.

"Don't say it, Sam."

"Dean, you saw how she acted."

"Shut up! She isn't doing this!" He said in a loud whisper.

"Then what is she hiding?"

"I don't know, Sammy. But Robyn isn't a killer. She never was and she never will be."

"That was the girl that we knew. This one could be completely different."

"She's the exact same!"

"She looks the same. But Dean, what if this time around, she really is the monster?"

_Two hours later:_

They both sat in the Impala in front of the building, waiting in silence. Sam knew that this was killing Dean, hell, it was killing him too. They had decided not to call Castiel until they knew for sure what this Robyn was.

"Did you see that?" Dean said suddenly, looking more off to the side of the building.

"See what?" Sam asked, squinting to see in the dark.

"A shadow. It's moving away from the building…and it's fast."

Dean and Sam jumped out of the car, grabbing a gun that would fit in their jacket and a knife at their side. They ran after the shadow and would have lost it completely if it hadn't stopped just a few buildings away. They watched it crawl through an open window and Sam looked at his brother. He had to think of how to say it without making things worse, but that was truly impossible.

"If it is her… we can't kill her. We would have to send her to Purgatory somehow."

"Oh really, Sam?" Dean said, his voice seething with suppressed anger. "You remember what's waiting for her there?"

Sam sighed heavily, watching his brother make his way to the open window. When they were only halfway there, they heard what sounded like a muffled scream followed by a thud like somebody had fallen to the ground. Dean was the first to practically jump through the window. He saw the shadowy figure kneeling next to a body that was lying on the floor. The muffled screaming continued as the figure held their hand over the victim's mouth.

"Get away from him!" Dean shouted, aiming the gun at the back of the figures head while Sam looked for a light switch. It was like the figure didn't notice the two men that just entered the room. Sam finally found the switch on the other side of the room and flipped it on.

"God damn it!" Dean shouted as he saw he was pointing the gun at the back of Robyn's head. She was whispering something. As Dean got closer he was able to make out a few words.

"_Please…shh. Don't." _She was talking to the man on the ground. "_I'm so sorry." _She slowly got louder. "Stop screaming. I'm sorry!" She was becoming frantic. She still hadn't acknowledged the two in the room. They just stared at the scene in front of them, not sure what to do. Her one hand was holding tight over the man's mouth while the other was putting pressure on a gaping wound on his stomach. Blood began to pool under him. "Please stop! I'm sorry! Please stop _bleeding_!"


	16. Omen

Dean bent to wrap a strong arm around her waist and pulled Robyn away from the man roughly. She struggled to get back to him but Dean forced her to the ground so she was sitting with her back against the wall.

"Don't fucking move. You hear me?" Dean growled. She looked so pale and her eyes were wide, like something had actually scared her. He just stared for a moment before turning around. The man on the ground had gone very quiet. Sam checked his pulse and looked up at Dean, shaking his head. The man was dead.

"It's the guy from the coffee place…the manager." Sam observed. He tried to see what Dean was thinking but his face had so much going on that it was impossible to read. Then he turned on Robyn.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! You were supposed to be okay!" He shouted.

Robyn looked up at him, her expression blank. Her hands were covered in blood and she just shook. She couldn't stop herself from trembling.

"Answer me!"

She was silent.

"You _are_ a fucking monster." He hissed, turning his back on her.

"Dean, calm down." Sam intervened. All he received in response was a cold glare.

"It wasn't supposed to happen…" Robyn said finally.

"Damn right it wasn't supposed to happen!" Dean snapped.

"I didn't make it in time…" She whispered.

"What? Make it in time for what?" Sam asked.

"I tried to save him. I tried so hard." Her voice began to crack as she looked up at Sam. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears. Just one of them fell. Sam was surprised to see that it was clear. "But he died…just like everyone else."

Sam knelt in front of her, trying to figure out what she was trying to say.

"Get away from her, Sam!" Dean ordered. "She will rip you apart!"

"Dean, if you can't be in here right now then go outside and breathe."

Dean didn't move. Instead, he just looked at Robyn, making sure she didn't move.

Sam turned back to Robyn and asked softly, "Did you kill him?"

"I tried to save him!"

"From what?"

"From that…thing. I don't know what it was…is."

"What did it look like?"

She hesitated, thinking for a moment, like she was reliving everything that had happened.

"It had black eyes. But everything else looked like him. He's not a killer, I swear. Whatever was controlling him is."

"Who, Robyn? We have to know." Sam urged.

"You'll kill him."

"No, we won't kill him."

"_He_ will." She said, glaring over at Dean.

Dean's jaw clenched. He didn't believe her, or he wouldn't let himself believe her. "It's her boyfriend, Sam."

Robyn glare turned into shock. "How the hell would you know that?!"

"I've known you long enough to know what you're thinking!" Dean snapped back, realizing what he had done just a little too late.

"I just met you guys yesterday…" She said, confused. She was trying to figure out who these guys were.

Sam looked at Dean angrily then back at Robyn, trying to fix it. "We want to help him. That's why we're here. We just want these murders to stop."

"You guys aren't from the F.B.I. So what are you going to do?"

"Okay, you're right. We aren't from the F.B.I. But we are really experienced in what's going on here."

"Sam!" Dean shouted. "What are you doing?"

"She's going to find out eventually, Dean. And you kind of painted us into a corner here."

"Discussion. Now." Dean said, waving him over to the other side of the room.

When Sam got over there Dean immediately started off with, "What if she remembers?"

"It's a risk we have to take. We have to get her to trust us any way we can."

"We will ruin her."

"People are dying, Dean. We can take care of her if she remembers and it will be back to the way it was, but we have to stop the demon."

Dean looked over at Robyn, whose face was stoic, just like it had been when she had confronted them at her dorm building just a few hours ago.

"She's listening…" Dean said frustrated. As soon as he said that, Robyn began looking around the room, acting like she wasn't paying attention.

"Knock it off. You're busted." Dean ordered.

Robyn got to her feet and looked over at them. "Okay. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure. Go for it." Sam said, figuring there was really nothing they could hide anymore.

"Who the hell are you guys?! Since that day at the coffee shop, you acted like you knew me, and now it turns out that you do. But I don't know you guys. I've been trying to remember but I've never seen either of you before in my life. And you make it sound like remembering would be terrible." She said, turning her attention to Dean. "And now there is a demon. So far the demon is the most believable thing you've said."

"That is a lot to explain." Dean said carefully.

"Well, we must not have liked each other very much considering you were so quick to accuse me of killing the guy. And 'monster'. That's kind of harsh."

Dean just looked stunned. "Are you kidding me?! He was the one-, I didn't-," He was so caught off guard that he could barely finish a thought. "What?!"

"Yeah, Dean. You should really give people more of a chance." Sam said with a smirk.

"Shut up!" Dean was finally convinced that she wasn't the killer, but now the guilt of what he had said was eating at him.

"Could you just explain how you guys know me?" Robyn asked. A strange look crossed her face. It had been there since Dean had said the word 'monster' but she had concealed it better until this moment.

"It's a long story… You don't want to hear it." Dean said softly.

"I have a right to know!"

"Well, you don't want to know!"

"You guys are seriously going to go at it right now? Things really haven't changed all that much." Sam said, the two of them already giving him a headache.

Dean sighed heavily. "Okay, fine. Let's make a deal. Once we get this demon out of your boyfriend we will give you the whole story."

She reluctantly agreed. "How do we get it out of him?"

"Well, you are going to go back to your room and act like everything is normal and when me and Sam here get the demon, we will come and tell you the story." Dean explained.

"So you guys can just drive off without telling me? You've gotta be kidding."

"Told you she was the same." Dean muttered at Sam.

"So, what do we do with her?" Sam asked.

"Right here guys. Still in the room."

"I don't know. She won't stay in her room. We know that. Even if we tie her to a freaking chair she will find a way to escape." Dean reasoned.

"Well, that's not weird… I hope that has nothing to do with how I know you guys." Robyn said, getting even more creeped out than she was at the coffee shop.

"Oh, it does. It really does." Dean said with a slight smirk as he winked at her. The look of horror on her face made him laugh. Sam hadn't heard his brother laugh since they lost Robyn.

"It's not as weird as it sounds, I swear." Sam explained.

"That makes me feel a whole lot better." She said sarcastically.

"Anyway, we are going to have to bring her with us. Besides, the demon is probably looking for her in the first place." Sam continued.

Dean looked at Robyn, then back at Sam. "I got an idea."

_One hour later:_

"I changed my mind. This plan sucks." Robyn complained.

"Just call him up and tell him to get his sexy butt on the track field." Dean said with a smile.

"You don't have a girlfriend do you?"

Sam laughed. "This is fun. I missed this."

"Nobody's talking to you, Sasquatch." Dean retorted.

Robyn reached in her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. Out of her other pocket she pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.

"Down! Put that down right now! You've already had like fifty today." Dean reprimanded.

She already had one hanging out of her mouth. "Are you shitting me? Are you like my fucking dad or something?"

"If I was, you'd be dead. Now put it down."

"Just one?"

Dean just gave her a look that would have made Ted Bundy stop killing people.

"Fine. Jesus. Freaking Nazi…" She said as she put the cigarette back in the box and back in her pocket. She looked at her phone and started dialing the number. She put it to her ear and after the first ring she heard his voice.

"Hey, Damien."

At that, Dean couldn't hold back. He put a hand over his mouth and started laughing. Robyn stared at him, thinking he was crazy.

"Damien, like the Omen. Devil's kid, and now this Damien is possessed?" Dean explained in a whisper. Sam elbowed him hard in the ribs. "Sorry…not funny."

"Nothing. I'm just at the field. Just wondering if you would want to come down and we could do something fun?"

"Oh God…I feel another heart attack coming on." Dean muttered.

"Okay. I'll be under the left side bleachers. I'll see you in five minutes then." She said with a smile as she hung up the phone.

"So, have you had "fun" with this guy before?" Dean asked, hiding his fear really poorly.

"Jealous." She said with a smirk.

"Ha, freaking ha. You are hilarious."

She shrugged. "I do what I can. Shouldn't you guys hide?"

"I think we know what we are doing miss know it all… but we are just gonna go behind those bushes over there."

"Uh-huh."

Sam finished setting everything up and followed Dean into the bushes. "Be careful." He said turning towards her for a second. "Remember he's not your boyfriend right now."

She just nodded as she watched them disappear behind the bushes. She took a deep breath before she heard footsteps coming towards her. She couldn't see anyone coming until he was only a few feet in front of her.

"Hey." She said with a forced smile.

"Why are you out so late?" He asked, towering over her. For some reason, Robyn hadn't really noticed how big he was until that moment.

"Well, you know, I wasn't tired so I wanted to take a walk, then I realized that I wanted you with me." She reached out to take his hand but he jerked it away.

"You're different." He said suddenly.

"How?" She asked, confused.

His eyes turned pitch black including the whites of his eyes. "You know something."

"Well, you sure didn't hide it too well." She said as she backed away from him. He took a step towards her but before he set his foot down, he pulled it back and looked up, seeing a demon trap painted on the bottom of the bleachers.

"Who's with you? You don't know how to do that."

"I learned." She said, her heart racing.

"Liar." He said calmly as he put his hand out and flicked his wrist to the right which sent her flying. She landed hard on the ground, the dirt scraping up her arm. She rolled onto her back, lifting herself up on her elbows just in time to see him standing over her. He knelt down and smiled. "Are your friends going to come out, or are they going to let you die?"

"You're just going to have to find out, aren't you?" She said, masking the fear in her voice very well.

"Alright." He said as he put a hand on her stomach and just pushed. "This is how I killed that boss of yours." He smiled as his fingertips began to dig into her abdomen. The pain was crippling. She wasn't even able to scream as she grabbed is forearm and tried pushing it away.

All of a sudden, the demon started screaming as its skin steamed. Dean was behind him and had what looked like a bottle of water that he had just splashed on the demon. It pulled its hand away from Robyn who clutched her stomach, trying to sooth the pain that lingered. She forced herself to her feet as Sam ran up behind her.

"You okay?" He asked quickly.

Robyn couldn't do anything but nod.

"So you guys are the hunters? Figured as much. Back to old times I guess?" The demon snickered.

"Shut up." Dean snapped, tossing more holy water at the demon who screamed again. They were trying to get it to wander into the trap by accident but he kept getting close to the edge and backing away. At one moment when he was close to the edge, Robyn ran at him and just crashed into the demon which knocked the creature into the trap. They both were on the ground and Robyn tried to crawl out of the trap. She knew she that if she stayed in the trap too long the demon could easily get her. As she was crossing the line however, she felt a strong grip on her ankle and she was dragged backwards. Before the boys could get to the demon there was a loud crack followed by something that sounded like a whimper as Robyn bit back the scream that should have followed. When they got the demon to let go Robyn pulled herself out. Dean rushed to her side. Sam started the exorcism, chanting in Latin.

Robyn fought the blinding pain as best she could. "How often was I used as bait?" she asked, trying to get her mind off of it.

Dean just smiled a little. "Not too often. Let me see it."

"There's nothing to see. It's broken."

"Just let me see, you big baby."

Robyn grabbed the bottom of her jeans and lifted it up, wincing. When the demon started leaving Damien's body, Robyn's left shoulder burned badly. Her hand flew to her shoulder, gritting her teeth.

"What's wrong?" Dean asked, trying not to panic.

"My shoulder… It just started hurting." She said through her teeth.

Dean moved behind her, allowing her to lean back on him so she didn't have to use her leg muscles as much. He pulled the neck of her shirt off to the side so he could see the back of Roby's shoulder. He saw the brand her father had given her and sighed heavily.

"It'll go away. Just give it a few seconds." The pain that the demon had felt when going to hell was being shared with Robyn. He remembered Castiel explaining this to them over a year ago. Sure enough, the pain slowly faded.

"Next time, you guys can be bait." She said as she leaned on Dean's shoulder.

"Next time?" Sam asked with a slight smile.

She laughed a little. "We'll see." She was starting to get really tired. "So, what's my story?" She asked.

Sam and Dean exchanged looks.

"Don't you dare say 'we will tell you later'."

"We'll tell you after you get your cast." Sam said simply.

"What about Damien?" She asked, looking over at him. He had been lying there motionless for a while.

"He'll wake up. Don't worry about him. Sam will take him to where he needs to be. I'm going to take you to the hospital." Dean explained.

"I really don't want to go to the hospital." She said quickly.

"Too bad. Your ankle's broken so you can't run away this time."

"This time?"

"We had a lot of issues with you and the hospital." Dean said with an amused smile. "Okay. This is going to hurt." He said as he moved next to her and lifted her up, carrying her towards the car. She was so busy focusing on the pain that she couldn't think of an argument. Dean put her in the backseat of the Impala so she could lie down.

Before she fell asleep, Dean heard her say, "I know this car."


End file.
